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At the crossroads on the best possible corner
I should have figured August would be full of emotion. (It always is for teachers—and I am still in that category. Probably always will be.) But this emotion has been building up for 10 months. And today is the final day of that period. I must recognize publicly this time at the crossroads. If you know me at all, you know my hope is that my message might reach someone else—down the road. Ten months ago, almost to the day, I walked away from my school, my position, my community with a heavy heart. Because my loved ones were struggling, I was near heartbreak and could not concentrate on my…
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Mama Said There’d Be Days Like This
Yesterday I hit a wall. Everyone knows the kind of concrete face-plant that usually ends in tears and crazy utterances like, “I can’t do this!” For me, it doesn’t get to that point, anymore. I know when I am approaching that path and can usually steer clear. I decided to check in publicly to remind myself of the formula and perhaps practice how inspiration can interrupt that downward spiral. I have been working extremely hard the last couple months because I know success is solely based on me Showing Up. As my work and tasks (and accomplishments) started piling up I got up earlier and earlier to exercise, study, read,…
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I Resigned. Can I be healthy/wealthy without wealth/health?
I have been thinking about writing, but thanks to my friend and fellow blogger Mr. Fig I’ve been inspired to get back to the keyboard plunking, share some ideas, and give some advice. In fact, he wrote recently about mental health. The least I can do is write about financial independence. It is not that I haven’t been Showing Up. Whew, have I ever. I can’t wait to do a summary of my break and exploration in a later post. I’ve learned so much. Everyone should take a break! I knew I was leveraging some interesting projects but I was not prepared for the busyness. All good–I promise you! But…
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Start your clutter and chaos-free life now
I realize that I have only scratched the surface of the decluttering game. I must say more! First, I went to a decluttering presentation in my city after my last post. It seemed appropriate and I am really fascinated with the psychology found here. I’m hooked on a simple life. Well, I found lots of people thinking and wondering about this topic too. The room was full. People came from work for this free session in the middle of the day, middle of the week, with a desire for a clutter-free home and life. Men, women, young, and old were present and all ears. I will give credit where credit…
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Decluttering for Empty-Nesters
Why is decluttering so difficult? It sounds easy. We moved twice to get rid of stuff. But there are still tears in what I call the next level of the declutter game. It changes over time as you change. Let me explain. Some years back before the declutter trend of today I was fascinated by the idea of having less. People were just starting to write about it. One such geek bragged of “100 Things”. Actually, the awe and wonder from this young man’s point of view was that he had acquired 100 things. He hadn’t purged to get to 100. He was renting one room from a friend, confident…
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A Typical Classroom—A-typical Attitude
I heard a song today on the car radio. It was about “living to work” or “working to live.” Those were the actual lyrics. Also the basis for most of my thinking right now. A google search confirmed that this is definitely on many minds—turning up millions of hits for those six words. The thing is, teachers choose this field as a way of life, a way of being. Art and craft. A calling. Teaching requires something more than some 9 to 5s. Call it compassion like I did here. Or call it an identity. What I consider here might help teachers like me wondering how to feel great again…
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Stop Blaming Teachers
Is retaining qualified teachers a thing of the past? Sustaining work that valued head and heart used to be important; the foundation of our teaching. We took care to wrap the gifts of our classroom families with love and attention. We used our creative vision to engage students’ souls. We endeavored to give students and families a place to feel welcome. In return, we felt our gifts of teaching mattered—not just to the students in our classrooms, but to the community. It is not this that was wrong. This love wasn’t enough to make every student a successful reader, granted. But no learning happens without it. Not in a…
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Finding Peace Through the Retreating Path
This past weekend I enjoyed a very moving and restorative retreat with a group of individuals—no longer strangers. Often, people, my husband included, ask me, “What do you do on retreat?” The time is best described as exploring the many paths life presents, with others, knowing this is your one journey. Like the snow in Minnesota, that’s pretty deep! I usually discover something profound about myself and my situation. It was a time of contemplation within a time of contemplation for me as I currently deviate from the teacher path. This Courage and Renewal retreat brought me back to Parker Palmer’s words about a teacher’s “inner landscape”. I came home…
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Warren Buffet does not keep a full calendar and other time-management tidbits
Warren Buffet told Charlie Rose and Bill Gates that sitting and thinking may be of much greater priority than filling every moment in your schedule. The clip, labeled Busy is the New Stupid, came across my feed with obvious interest. I don’t know if I agree with the stupid part, but busy is an idea that is far overused often, in my opinion, creating a victim mentality. To have time is the most precious thing. Even WB can’t buy more. Most, including me, think more time would somehow alleviate some suffering and stress. There is a constant need to get things done and feelings of always falling short. Surely more…
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Teacher Burnout or Compassion Satisfaction
What innate factors and characteristics make for long lasting and sustainable empathy? My brother is an emergency room and flight nurse trained in transporting patients. These patients are of course in the worst stages of trauma and often in life-sustaining mode when he meets them. Sometimes he’s successful in the transport. The measure is not always qualitative. This job requires much patience and on-your-feet thinking under very serious stress and time constraints. Some patients don’t survive. That is something he must deal with on a regular basis. It takes a special kind of person to withstand this kind of pressure and fatigue. I am not trying to compare my job…
