a new mantra

So I get hyper-involved in my work, and I blame my folks for that. I grew up believing - to my core - that working in education is not a "job", but a life's vocation. Quality public education is something you should believe in deeply, and you should strive to do your all to do your job well. I do believe this, and I really do love my job. However, dealing with peoples' personalities is tricky, and it is very difficult to take the higher road. A friend told me her mantra for this year, which is now stuck in my head as well: I am a duck...everything just washes off my back. It is working well, I must say! I just smile, take it all in, and think to myself..."Quack, quack."

Tough to be a grown-up

One of the hardest things for me about being a parent is knowing when to be hard on my son, and when to be easy. Dan's swimming lessons have really put me to the test! In some ways, he is fearless around water - he'll leap right off the edge of the pool or off the diving board - so I really want him to learn to swim. However, he doesn't want grown-ups to let go of him out in the middle of the water, and he gets in a near-panic when you try to let go of him. The past week has involved a great deal of "pushing him away" so that he'll see can swim on his own (with a noodle) without sending him into trauma. It's a tricky balance, and no fun at all! It's a matter of letting him know we love him, and he can trust us, but that he is strong enough to do it on his own. This is definitely one of those life lessons that makes me look on my parents' behavior with wiser (and more sympathetic) eyes.

A great place to start!

I'm not new to blogging...I've just started and stopped a few dozen times. Somehow, I haven't followed through before. But now that I have swept up the bread crumbs of my former blogging adventures, I'm ready to start fresh.