After a trip home to Ohio, I'm always reflective. This has a lot to do with the cultural shift from major metropolitan area to farming community. In seminars I talk sometimes about trying to cultivate simplicity in our families' lives. Traveling to and from the farm reminds me to follow my own advice.

A few months ago a tornado took the roof off Dad's ancient barn, and so he and the local nephews and son-in-law have been having a blast rooting through years of stored up farm goodies—steel scraps, wood leftovers for the new barn's furnace in winter, odds and ends that I can't even name—all saved by my father, who is extremely resourceful and inventive.

For the purpose of tearing down the actual barn, which is too old to warrant repair, Dad bought an elderly excavator. Those of you who have never driven one are really missing out! It's a big, big toy that's relatively simple to run and can dig and destroy things in record time.

Probably the height of our visit was the afternoon we lined up to learn how to steer, turn, dig, lift and dump.

It was so terrific to get out of my office, writing and speaking element and do something really fun and so different. The day also had no strict schedule. We were messing around and we had time to mess around.

How many of us can say that? How I long for the days of my childhood when summer seemed to last forever and there were no set plans! Every day was a discovery, and I wasn't bored either (well, most of the time—I was a kid, after all!).

A rural community makes it a good deal easier to move more slowly, drive less often, and spend more time talking or digging in the woods or puttering in the garden. At Dad's house, we have resident hummingbirds and finches that entertain us nearly every day, and the TV seems a real "boob tube" in comparison (except for Jeopardy—that's an evening ritual at the farm).

No matter where we live, it's vital that our lives aren't stolen away by technological entertainment, too many classes, too much schedule. To live, we need variety, physical involvement, and time to mess around.

I challenge you to find a chance to let go of some things in your schedule this month. Maybe you don't have a farm to go to and an excavator to drive, but say "no" to something that isn't THAT important and say "yes" to goofing off. You'll be glad you did. Be like a child and recapture the wonder of childhood. And if you have kids, just hang out and follow their lead. You'll be goofing off happily before you know it!