While this is the time of year where I usually share all the things I am grateful for, and this year there are many, I am reminded of the ‘The Gift of the Magi‘, the story of what is enough. As a teacher, I used to read this short little tale to my students at the holiday time because there were many who would return from the holiday break bragging about the Barbie Houses and fancy RC cars, expensive clothes and shoes, while others would listen in envy. In this story, there are many themes that children pick up on:…
Leap of Faith
My Gran always instilled in me the belief in God, the power of prayer, and the idea of faith. She taught me how to pray, and instilled in me this belief that no matter what I was doing, or where I was in the world, God was watching over me. She would tell me that our deceased family members lived in the Kingdom of God. In my child’s mind, I pictured this big grand castle where my Popo, who passed when I was 7, lived and he would drink Coors and go fishing every day, while pulling weeds, and chewing…
Day 9 Working from Home~ What does ‘Essential’ really mean?
If I thought things were real last Sunday at Sam’s Club…Boy was I being naive. And it would appear I’m not the only one….In the last day I have heard so many people saying they didn’t really take this seriously. This video was eye opening (and tear jerking truth be told) and made by someone deemed essential on the front lines of this battle. https://www.instagram.com/p/B-GX-D1DKJ_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link The father of one of my son’s friends is fighting for his life with a confirmed case of COVID-19. An employee of the school district in another elementary school also has a confirmed case. But…
Day 8 Working from Home- Reflecting vs. Overthinking and the role of Leadership
My Dear Ole’ Gran used to say I was a worry wort. She had a million analogies about my worrying ways: fishing in air, spending a dollar on a ten cent problem, borrowing trouble….she knew that I lost a lot of sleep worrying and overthinking. Still do. She and my mom used to tell me I was a natural born worrier. As a young adult, the worry manifested itself as crippling anxiety. There were times when I wouldn’t leave my house, or even my bedroom, because I was so worried about some small thing. And then one day, I learned…
Bless you… sanitize. COVID19 work from home…day 1
So, like all schools in Michigan and many around the country, my school is closed until April 6th. I had until 4:00 pm today to get all of the things I needed from my office to be able to work from home for the next two weeks. The third week off being spring break, I’m not expected to actually work. I will just say this is surreal and I probably will work over spring break.#educatorlife. On a personal level, my whole orderly, predictable, routine life is completely disrupted. No spin class…no rush out the door to get to work…no morning…