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Build memories during Christmas break

As school buses complete their final rounds before Christmas break, the Juniata Valley prepares for an annual shift. Starting today, our streets and neighborhoods will buzz with children trading classrooms for play and homework for hot chocolate.

This temporary transformation offers our community an opportunity. While parents juggle work schedules and holiday preparations, hundreds of young people will explore our town during daylight hours. Drivers, take note – slow down as kids are out and about.

The following two weeks mark more than a pause from education. They create space for experiences money cannot buy: teaching grandma’s cookie recipe to a younger sibling or curling up by the fire for a family movie marathon.

Yet these moments slip away when we stay glued to screens. Research shows American families now spend less than 30 minutes per day in meaningful conversation. Our phones ping with notifications while our children compete for attention against endless social media scrolling.

Consider this: The average person checks their phone 262 times per day – once every 5.5 minutes. During daily dinner, 47% of parents use their phones, according to a 2023 Common Sense Media study. Our kids notice.

But small changes yield significant results. When families commit to phone-free meals, eye contact increases by 89%, and conversation length doubles. Children speak 21% more words during device-free interactions.

This winter break offers a reset button. Leave phones in a basket by the door during game night. Take a sunset walk through Rec Park together. Build memories through presence, not posts.

The Mifflin County Library, the YMCA and our local theaters are open. These community spaces need families to fill them with laughter and life.

To our young readers enjoying their first morning of freedom: Your enthusiasm energizes our area. Wave to neighbors as you walk downtown. Hold doors for seniors at the post office. Show visitors why the Juniata Valley shines brightest through its people.

Parents, your presence matters more than perfection. Your children crave connection over Instagram-worthy moments. They’ll spend quality time with you more than any wrapped gift.

Business owners expect young customers to explore independence with holiday money. Welcome them. Guide them. Help them learn to navigate our community with confidence.

And drivers remain alert. Children dart between parked cars or race across intersections, caught up in holiday excitement. Extra caution prevents regrets.

The next two weeks pause everyday routines. But they also strengthen bonds between generations, neighbors, and friends. They remind us why small towns endure – because people choose to engage, to show up, to participate in collective moments.

This season, power down devices and power up presence. Build snow people. Bake cookies. Read stories. Play board games. Explore downtown shops. Volunteer at the food bank. Make hot chocolate with extra marshmallows.

Our children grow up fast. Today’s fifth graders soon leave for college. Today’s high school athletes soon compete in their final games. Today’s teenage babysitters soon parent their own kids.

But right now, they’re here. They’re home. They’re ready to connect.

The phones can wait. The emails will keep. Social media marches forward whether we scroll or not.

This winter break, choose presence over pixels. Choose conversation over clicks. Choose to fully inhabit these fleeting days when children fill our streets with wonder and homes with warmth.

Because someday – sooner than we imagine – quiet will return. School buses will resume their routes. Normal schedules will reset.

And we’ll wish we had one more game of Monopoly. One more sledding adventure. One more cookie-baking afternoon. One more chance to simply be together.

Those chances start today. Let’s make them count.

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