Tuesday Slice: Taking a day or three

 

I've been in a funk as of late.  The kind of funk that lays like a mantle on my shoulders, eyelids heavy, the corners of my mouth just a little harder to push up those cheeks that make my eyes smile above the facemask that I work so hard to color-coordinate with my work clothes.

I knew I needed to take a day off, but when?  Checkout weeks are best, when only the littlest students get a read-aloud...and this week is a checkout week.  Two weeks away was just too long after the July workdays I had, followed by a full August and equally full September.  It had to be this week.  So I took a deep breath, texted my local substitute who loves the library, and was thrilled when she said yes.  I emailed my office secretary to put in the sub for me.

Emboldened, I logged into the employee absence site and took TWO more days off!  The library will be closed on those days due to hearing and vision screenings, so I won't even need a substitute.  We'll be coming off of a weekend of helping our daughter and son-in-law move into a new apartment, and this will keep us from rushing back down the highway.

So what will I do on my day off this week?  I'll savor an extra cup of coffee, read a bit, crochet a bit, and finally make those medical appointments I've been meaning to follow up on.  They will lead to a few more days off, I'm sure, but with over ninety days in my leave bank, I'm sure I can spare a few for my well being.

I'm feeling pretty good about these acts of self-care right now...but ask me how I'm feeling after I spend hours on the sub plans.

Tuesday Slice: TV's siren call

 

Image from enkivillage.com

I was supposed to be

   doing some chores

but the season premieres were on.

I was supposed to be

   taking a nice hot shower

but the season premieres were on.

I was supposed to be 

   writing a thoughtful post

but the season premieres were on.

I was supposed to be

   getting ready for bed

but the season premiers were on.

I was supposed to be

   in bed by 930p

but...

(you know how it ends.  Yawn.)

Tuesday Slice: Begin with the here and now

 

Some say begin with the end in mind

And goals are good

pointing the way

giving us a sense of direction

But goals are as far away as

this afternoon

this evening

this weekend

next week

next month

next year

another job

another place

another--dare we say it--body

A goal is

a mathematical ray

on a flat plane

moveable

in three-hundred-sixty degrees

but the starting point remains the same

the ray doesn't exist

without that fixed point

We are here

It is now

we must reckon with

wrestle with

acknowledge

truth-full-y

plans be damned

goals evolving 

as the weather

and circumstances

and knowledge

and bodies

change

We must begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop.

Credits:  

"Begin with the end in mind."--Franklin Covey

"Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop."--Lewis Carroll

Tuesday Slice: Always learning

 

There are days when I feel

like I have learned a lot

in my lifetime

(the natural consequence

of fifty-six years of living)

And then

 there are days when I feel

like I have so much to learn

(the natural consequence

of living with others)

When someone I think I know

reveals a new secret from their past

When a story in a book

has a lesson that's different than

what I learned in school

When a child, flesh of my flesh

speaks their own adult truth

When a scientist explains

that tides don't go in and out

When an important detail

about a student's life

is shared, explaining everything

When someone else's common knowledge

is not common to me

(or the other way around)

When a loved one says

"We need to talk"

The learning continues

whether I want it to

or not.

Spiritual Journey Thursday: Community

 

Maureen has given us the prompt of "community"

this month.  You can read her post, and

links to responses, on her Blogger site.

How big does a community have to be?  

I ask because I recently finished a middle grade fiction novel, A Kind of Spark, by Elle McNicoll.  The main character, Addie, is autistic, and finds it difficult and exhausting to relate to the people at school and in her town.  But she has an older sister, Keedie, who is also autistic; she completely understands Addie's struggles, and helps her navigate them.  They have a "particular characteristic in common" and a "feeling of fellowship" with each other--a community of two.

Does a community have to live together?

I ask because technology, particularly platforms like Facebook, have become virtual communities.  Yes, social media can falsely portray perfect lives with poreless skin and spotless homes, but my circles (and I) are getting better at sharing the foibles as well as the celebrations.  It's become the backyard chatting fence with people living on other schedules and in different time zones.

How important is community?

I would hope we would all answer this question with a resounding "oh, so very important!"  We know this from nature, like Maureen's example of the forest's root network, the trees "speaking" to one another and sustaining growth.  We know this from ancient history; our species survived and thrived because of community, as Margaret Mead pointed out when asked about the first sign of civilization.   We know this as educators, our students achieving more when there is a sense of community in the classroom, in the school--and on our IB-PYP campus, with the world.  This post wouldn't exist without the community of writers who come together once a month to explore spirituality together.

**********************************

I sometimes struggle with community, as an introvert.  There is an innate need to participate in common activities and a desire to help others...but being around others for too long, being "on",  is exhausting, becoming more so as I age.  I really appreciate my online communities, which allow me to participate at my own level and on my own time.