***I started this blog post the week of workshops, 3 weeks ago, and then got wrapped up in school and masks and cleaning and safety and all the things this school year has brought with it, and didn't follow my own advice, Being Present for Me, and I am feeling the effects. Teacher, take your own advice, correct??***
It's a new school year, my 25th year in education, but it feels nothing like normal, and I knew it wouldn't. What was I thinking it would be like? I tried not to even think about it because it was literally changing day by day. So how to you get yourself geared up for a year like this? That is the million dollar question, and I truly wish I had the answer, but I don't think there is just one.
For me, the past few weeks, my last weeks of summer, I chose to shut the door on school and school related topics (including COVID whenever possible) and just breath in and out and enjoy being present in the moment and do things for me. I finished a few quilts, spent lots of time with my dogs, saw my daughters and granddaughters, and connected with friends.
In my traveling, I started back listening to podcasts. I stepped away from these during the pandemic, staying at home, because I primarily listen while driving to and from school, and any distance driving. So of course what do I go to first, Innovator's Mindset w/ George Couros. For those that know me, George Couros is my go to for positivity and innovation (hence the name of the podcast and his book The Innovator's Mindset.) While I had taken a break for several months, George did not (well, not as long a break as me), so I had a lot to choose from.
I found several new people to follow on Twitter through his episodes (Evan Whitehead, Allyson Apsey, Dwight Carter, Weston Kieschnick) and know my list will grow as I play catch up. Now I could have said I was absent from listening, that I was not engaged, I was "on a break", and all actually are true......
......but I was not gone. I was present. I was present in my home, for Cory, for my dogs. I was present for my kids and grandkids, and actually connected with them more, and it was more genuine. I was present with friends, connected with friends in different ways, and more often.
But most importantly I was present for myself. I consciously kept my health and fitness goals in front of me, (literally, I worked where I workout so I saw the workout posters and checklists multiple times a day). Was I perfect, no!! I had days of ice cream and popcorn meals, but overall I was able to be more prepared in meal preparation and able to take the time to make better meal choices.
Being present for my Cory, Tinker, Kona and my family meant I was spending time for them, not just running from task to task and waving hello and we passed each other. I had better, deeper conversations and connections with my kids, I was relaxed and could sit and truly listened.
What was probably the most important for me was connecting with my friends. I've reached a stage in my life when my kids are no longer at home (so my friend group of parents of my kids' classmates, sadly, has diminished to just a few) and I moved to a new school district recently (same experience, former work friends have diminished to just a few as well) so my connection with friends during this time, particularly during summer when I had so many restrictions, became about those people that are friends outside of other environments. I had almost forgotten the importance of those girlfriends you can be yourself with, that are friends regardless of anything, not for some status or attention it brings. Thank you to you all for reminding me.
As I did all these things, I didn't consider what it was doing FOR me, I was just living in the moment, some days just going through the motions. And to come back around to The Innovator's Mindset podcast, I was listening one day as I was driving to my middle daughter's home to see my granddaughters, and Being In and Appreciating the Present Moment came up. Now why is it when we do things, we don't think much of the value, but when we hear someone else say it, particularly someone we admire and respect. it's validation for doing the right thing?
