The three little monsters started school yesterday. (And let me please clarify, when I call them “monsters,” “loud ones,” “goofballs,” etc., it is because I love them and I LOVE their energy, their goofiness, their silliness, their youth – and I want to encourage it as much as possible! They seem to love it.) Not being their mom, I am very often out of the circle of what is happening in their lives from day to day (besides the many emails I receive from their schools!), and their father reminded me last night that the 2nd grader (the two older children are in the throes of middle school…that’s a topic for another post!) only gets one recess now. And it is tied to his lunchtime. I often think my memories of my childhood are off (you gotta love the “kid memory” – everything is big and fabulous!), but I am pretty darn sure that we had three recesses every day, as well as the before school time where we ran around like crazy and let the energy out. I feel SO very sad that many kids’ school days are so busy now (and the poor teachers have so many curriculums to get through) that they can only fit in one recess. I just can’t imagine it is good for the kids or the teachers. I’m really hoping that Planet Fassa will be able to provide an outlet for these kids to “get their play out” once they get home from school and on the weekends. To all the schools out there that are trying desperately to hang on to their arts, music and recess, I salute you. But for all the districts that have been forced to make cuts, let’s do what we can to keep this wonderful stuff in our kids’ lives. They so deserve – and need – it! I am off to write some Fassa Tails today. Often when I do, I lose the day and end up with a sore back (and rear) at night and have to “force” myself to do a round of yoga so I can stand up straight. But today, I am going to make this commitment: I am going to give recess a little respect and get my toosh out of the writing chair at least 3 times to walk outside and enjoy some down time. And when the kids arrive at their father’s tonight, we are going to all have a little recess time together. I can’t wait!

S. Moo