Monday, April 16, 2018

WE are enough.

We take care of the things we love, not the things we hate.


I read this statement today and it really hit home with me. It doesn't really matter what subject we may be discussing: relationships, our home, personal possessions, or...our bodies. When we care about things, about people, and about <gulp> our own self...we take care them.

Often when people talk about body image and acceptance, they misunderstand; they think accepting your body means resigning and giving up. They think if they accept their body, they won’t have any motivation to exercise or eat well. 

Acceptance does not have to also mean resignation. Loving your body does not mean resigning and giving up or treating it like garbage (both physically and emotionally). Loving your body means that you will honor it, listen to it, take care of it.

It means that there will be days when you just aren't feeling it and you eat like crap. Then you will feel like crap and the next day you'll wake up and resolve to learn from the day before, not mourn over it. We are clothed in skin and therefore we are human; we will screw up, we will make mistakes, there will be days (and sometimes a series of them) when we ignore all we innately know and treat our bodies poorly. It's not those days that are so dangerous for us; it's how our mind handles those days that sets the tone for the outcome.

I used to think (back when eating and exercising were tied to my self image instead of my well-being) that if I dove face first into a mega bag of M&Ms that my healthy day was blown to smithereens and therefore I should just feel free to eat everything in sight and begin again with a new day. Now I now that simply isn't true. All I need to do is accept the fact that I ate too many M&Ms and then move on, making a better decision about what I have to eat for dinner. 

Our bodies are gifts from God. They house vital organs, grow beautiful babies, and furnish us with energy and vitality to live the best life possible. When I finally began to see my flawed body as my one and only vehicle through this life, I began to love it a little more. And the next day a little more than the day before. It became less and less about being "ideal" and "pretty" and more and more about being strong and capable. 

We are enough.

And we're worthy to receive our own care and - more importantly - acceptance.


Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Ebb and Flow, People. Ebb and Flow.

Here is Murphy's Law of Classroom Juju.  Hold up, do I need to define Classroom Juju for you?  When I say "Classroom Juju," I am referring to that feeling in your classroom as well as that feeling you get about yourself as a teacher.  It's your vibe, how you're rolling, you know...how you doin'? 

Okay.  Back to Murphy's Law of Classroom Juju.  First let me preface it by saying that I don't believe in "Juju"; I believe in prayer. Lots and lots of it. It's how a teacher survives day after day. But there truly are days when you're just feeling it. If you're like me, you don't always look heavenward with a grateful heart and an appreciative smile; more than likely, you're engaging in your own self-centered "look what I made happen today" kind of dance. 

But, you see, it's like a big 'ol giant pendulum. It's gonna swing back and - when it does - it's gonna be hard enough and swift enough to knock you right off that high horse you climbed on the day before. Because, according to Murphy's Law, a fabulous day in the classroom will be followed immediately by a day that makes you want to light your own hair on fire.  

Picture it:  A crisp fall day.  Your morning routine? Slammin'.  Your reading and writing instruction?  Epic.  Your students independence and stamina?  Unparalleled.  Your test review?  Unreal.  Student level of enthusiasm?  Stoked. Classroom management?  The stuff of genius.  

All in all, you are on your way back to your classroom after dismissal feeling as if you have this week in the bag.  You can practically hear your own theme music following you down the hallway.  Your after school routine is easy, breezy, beautiful.  You chat with a few fellow teachers, there are no pop up meetings or last minute to-dos.  You pack your bag that does NOT have spilled morning coffee in it and head home.  You may even have time to squeeze in a workout.  Say whaaaaa????

Cut to the next day.  OH THE NEXT DAY.  

From the moment you welcome the first few into your classroom they act like it is the first day of school and they have no idea what your routine or rules might be.  You're all, "Guys, it's totally like the 40th day of school."  And they're all, "What's your name again?"  as they throw their backpacks just anywhere (The floor is crowded people; your teacher will trip if you keep this up), shout out that they don't remember their login and password for the grammar program you use EVERY BLESSED WEEK and then proceed to chit chat as opposed to getting down to the business of their morning work.  

One student has a meltdown during 3rd period (boyfriend broke up via text...a text, for the love of all things teenager-ish) the teacher next door lets you know that "your class acted out of control" while you stepped down to the copy room for TWO MINUTES, and  - to add injury to insult, the leftovers you brought for lunch sucked.  On the way back to your classroom after finally ...FINALLY... dismissing your class, you get stopped in the hall by an administrator who reminds you of a meeting that just never made it to your calendar.

I'm telling you, to be a teacher you have either got to be the most balanced chick on the planet OR enjoy riding the emotional ebbs and flows.  What does it say about our confidence that even I (who is in possession of a fairly strong sense of self and capacity if I do say so myself) feel crushed and worthless at the end of a day like this?

The good news?

The pendulum.

You will not  stay on your butt for long. That fortitude that all great teachers have will begin to rise up. You'll go home, have a good dinner, grade an essay that knocks your socks off because it is just That. Good. and you'll sleep the slumber of a Disney princess. Then you'll wake up and begin a new day.

It will go one of two ways. <Smile.>

And that is why we do this, day after day after day. We love the ebb and flow, the unexpected glimpse of a heart touched, the smile of a shy one who feels safe in your presence, the magic that happens when a lesson ignites a spark of understanding. 

We are teachers. We thrive on ebb and flow.