Pruning Your Fall Schedule

My sister owns some property in the mountains of West Virginia, where our family enjoys spending time camping.  Some long-ago owner must have maintained an apple orchard, because there are many apple trees on the property that have become overgrown over time.  Some are still producing very small apples—golf ball sized ones are the largest.  We have decided to try and bring back some of the trees to see if they will produce apples we could eat or use for baking.  With that goal in mind, we spend a bit of our time there each camping trip pruning a few of the trees and hammering fruit tree fertilizer spikes into the ground.

As I was pruning branches the last time we did this, the thought occurred to me that what I was doing is a lot like trying to change school traditions that have become stale. Homecoming, for example, often becomes like the overgrown apple trees. You add new activities now and then, but never seem to get rid of any old ones until it becomes an overgrown collection of activities—a parade, pep rally, bonfire, mum slae, lollygram sale, selection of royalty, dress-up days, dance, hall decorations, spirit competitions, halftime show, coronation, and on and on—like the branches of the tree. Some are strong and healthy, while others don't seem to be able to draw enough energy to sustain themselves. Eventually the effort involved in trying to maintain all those branches keeps the tree from bearing much fruit.

If the fruits of your labors this fall don't seem worth all the effort and energy that goes into them, perhaps it's time to try a bit of pruning. Is attendance down at your dance?  Are fewer people participating in dress-up days?  Is spirit lacking at the pep rally? Is there a lackluster crowd for the parade through town?  Rather than continuing to do the same ol' thing just because it's always been done that way, consider pruning away some of the deadwood and fertilizing the areas that will bear most fruit. Take the time to discuss as a group where the problem areas are and what areas seem most promising. Decide to focus your energy into a few "branches" and watch the activities grow strong again.