This Summer required extra Weekend Therapy to unpack everything we went through the last two years. When it started, I was still feeling floored that we had shut down the year prior, let alone the ups and downs of the most recent school year.
My summer friend on 35 mm
So I took pictures, traveled a bit, walked around aimlessly, rode my bike, binged TV, obsessed over listened to true crime podcasts, hung out with the kids, talked to my counselor, and watercolored. I think it accomplished the goal of coming to terms with all of the transitions, and I felt ready to finally start to hope and plan for the year ahead…however unpredictable it might prove to be.
My own counselor is helping me realize that we often think of self-care like we can put rest in some reserve for later when our lives explode again. But alas, it’s not so easy! Self- care is an ongoing process, and in the down-time of summer I’m learning to use my energy to process the past, and develop sustainable self-care habits for the busy future.
Anywho, at the end of the day (or summer) I have a cautiously optimistic readiness for the school year and a big ol’ pile of photographic and art prints! I went the summer taking pictures of my watercolors and then gifting them to people who will find them meaningful. And after ordering some magical giclee prints, I’ve decided to motivate my self- care practice by starting to sell them!
It all started with this first illustration of a book store near my cousin’s house in Columbus. She started out our summer with her beautiful neighborhood!
More to come on this if I can ever for the life of me figure out the interwebs, but if the site looks a little different it will be a sign I’ve figured it out!
Yep. Four more days. What a Summer it has been. We have had some serious changes this Summer in my family, some super sad and some exciting. It always seems to happen that way that the Summer is so seldom a slow burn. I can’t decide which way I like more. But I am ready to head back.
The crazyiness will begin soon, as I step into a new school. After my babies left for High School I’ve decided to take the leap and start a new adventure. As sad as I am to say goodbye to my old school, I am really excited to get my hands into a new place, new population, and forge new friendships. I get so much inspiration from the people around me, sometimes I think they get fatigued from my harassment! So now it’s time to give someone else a turn.
To prep for returning, I started reading The Balanced Teacher Path which has really helped me get into the mood to set my mind right, and remember to support the teachers on my hallway. It’s such an easy read, contains personal stories, and suggestions for the classroom and home. I seriously recommend it, and think it would be an amazing all-school read.
I also got to spend today in training with all of the secondary counseling peeps in VB. It was tough to wake up early, but it was so perfect to get me reignited and ready for the year. I am itching to get in, take care of scheduling conflicts, and get the year rolling. It feels so good to be in a profession that excites me enough to get my tail out of yoga pants and into business.
I attended a really great local literacy conference and was delighted to get to hear Harvey "Smokey" Daniels speak. He was a-ma-zing and super inspiring. I promptly bought his book, The Curious Classroom and can already recommend it. It's so good and so applicable to all kinds of subjects and grade levels. And it really got me thinking about curiosity and signs of content engagement, that maybe go beyond just the student.
We all hear grumbles and gripes from even our favorite colleagues. As I thought about curiosity, and how to model curiosity for students, I started to realize that this is a quality that I've seen less and less of in my disenchanted peers. I'm wondering if this might be the key to helping our burnt-out brethren get back on the energy train.
My favorite and most loved teachers definitely still have that curious streak about them. They get excited about everything, they are constantly looking around and observing, they ask question after question and can't wait to figure things out. They are not only curious, they are active learners in their own lives. They are engaged in education and engaged with their students every day.
I'm throwing the idea around of doing some professional learning about this. How can we get those down-trodden educators to tap into their lost source of curiosity? How can we remind them how good it feels to be obsessed with something and not get enough of it? How can we re-engage them with the petri dishes that we show up to everyday to remember how fascinating human development and neural connections are?
I’ve been hearing lots of chatter lately about people wondering whether they are where they should be. In relationships, an activity, a possible addiction, with kids (mine’s 15…oy vey), at our school or post, in our industry.
‘I’m done. I’m over it. I can’t do this anymore. Why am I here?’
It doesn’t mater what profession you are in, there are always signs of weary souls wandering around. But in the education profession, we walk a particular line with questions of moving on. We joke at work that it’s like an abusive relationship. We start the year fresh, excited, we get worn down, we are asked of more that we can give, we go unseen, we say we’re done. Then, right before we turn in our papers- TA DA! -we get a break (Spring, Summer, Winter? No difference at all). And in that sweet, sweet freedom, we say…’it’s not so bad.’ Ha! And the cycle continues year after year until we turn around and can’t believe we are getting another five-year paper weight.
It’s like when you go to Target and fill your basket impulsively with a million ridiculous kitchen gadgets, DVDs you’ll never watch, 70 ridiculous lay tiny towels, and adorable stationary sets. You feel so good…until you get to the line and realize you work for the public school system and can’t afford any of that Target magicalness and empty it all but the peanut butter and Cheerios. But the feeling of pretending for a little bit is enough to hold you over. For 2 hours (albeit wasted), you were all 5 (I think) of the Kardashian sisters.
So I started thinking about what factors could be considered when trying to decide if it’s time to move on. I found three, mainly based on my BFF and main man, Viktor Frankl and his Existentialism. If you haven’t read Man’s Search for Meaning, throw your worthless electronic down and run -don’t walk- to a book store near you and get it. Well, unless you are into digital reading, then don’t throw your electronic down, dummy. I’m sorry, that was mean.
Anywho, I think these three things are the most important to consider when trying to decide if it’s time to move on. OK, here goes:
1. Letting go of the past- Have you tried, to the best of your ability, to let go of the past? This includes letting go of things you wish were true (even the age-old). Hanging on to what should or could be only gets us stuck, and keeps us from being able to view our prospects with clarity. You’ve got to let go of this and catalogue what is so that you know what the reality of the situation is.
2. Honest perspective- Have you really truly taken in other perspectives? Like, reeeallllllyyyyy tried. This means understanding the bigger picture, our role in the larger system, and getting clarity on your situation in context of what other people are going through. I know, I know, this seems in contradiction to the first consideration, but I don’t mean stopping on what could be, but understanding our situation in a larger manner to ensure we have not simply lost focus of a world in which we are the center staple.
3. Effort toward contentment- Have you truly tried to find meaning in your situation? This one is a big nod to my Vik (we’re cool like that). A la #2, Frankl points out that Holocaust survivors, POWs, terminally ill, etc. report being able to find meaning in the moment. They can still appreciate something, and feel a meaningful existence by something. This is not to shame goal-seeky people though guys. I mean, a little fire goes a long way… and under the tush pushes us to do some amazing stuff. But this is more like a gut check. Have you truly put effort into finding contentment and holding tight to it? The trick is that you should feel contentment and meaning that is not based on how you feel, but rather your contentment in being a bystander to great things and other people as well.
So here’s the deal. I feel like these are really important to try, BUT they are not the end of the road. Sometimes we do everything we can (these three things included) and still cannot find happiness. It’s not that we’re not trying hard enough, maybe it’s that whatever situation you’re in has run its course. And it’s time to move on. Like, these make up the timeless 90’s movie’s holy grail. If they don’t work, maybe you’ve really exhausted your time and effort, and/or you are STUCK (and probably bitter) and you’ll get your full mojo back after moving on. Of course, if someone keeps moving around and still feels pooty, there might be some other things to contend with- patterns are super revealing.
I attended a really great local literacy conference and was delighted to get to hear 
