Blink

French market roses - all sorts of pinks
French market roses – all sorts of pinks

I blinked and my week was over. It seems like I was up North yesterday pulling the dock out, cleaning the garage, and tidying things up for the long winter or maybe the day before, but that isn’t possible, it was a week ago and a week has passed in blink of an eye.

I must have the best job in the world; no, I have the best job in the world. It is definite, I do. We checked out The Giver and continued working our way through some pretty complex ideas this past week in class and I actually had to go back and look at my plans to bring them into focus. We read the first nine chapters and Jonas has been selected for his job in the community. We held a mock ‘Ceremony of Twelve’ where each the students were assigned a job in the community. Some were excited about their jobs, others not so excited, but they looked at the process and as a whole were able to realize that choice is important, self-determination is important, and it is our choices that determine our paths. After only fifteen class days, they’ve made some remarkable strides. Monday is Day 16 and it will be as busy as ever. I am juggling several pieces of text and we are reading them in a bits and pieces, weaving them into a tapestry to build the unit theme – Community.

I am working day to day, where I can only lift my head up far enough and briefly enough to see just a little further down the path before I have put my head down and focus on what is happening in class that day, or the next. The analogy of chopping the forest down one tree at a time forest comes to mind; but so does the ‘building an airplane while it’s flying’ commercial from EDS, and I have to smile, to laugh, and trust that taking one step at a time is what I can do, what I need to do, because it’s all I can do, for now.

At home it’s no different; Monday – a filling at the dentist, Tuesday – scouts and an empty tank, Wednesday – high school curriculum night, Thursday – softball practice, Friday – high school football, and Saturday we’re loaded – football, softball, boy scouts, and a birthday. And, those are just the a few of the BIG ROCKS. Studying and learning is in the mix every day. Next week is no different, they’ll be BIG ROCKS and small pebbles and we’ll have to fit them all in the same container and have time left over to look around, because as Ferris Bueller said “Life moves pretty fast, you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Along the path, I am still working to make every day count. I drove home Friday afternoon after a long hard week full of energy and ready to get back at it Monday without a blink. The kids are great, they are fully engaged and learning, and so am I. They teach me as much as I teach them, sometimes it’s how to read and write, how to decode triskaidekaphobia, or they realize they already have the skills to do it on their own and all I am doing is helping them grow and refine their skills. In turn, I learn a new song, a new way of reaching them, or just something silly like “What does the fox say?” It’s a fair trade.

That was yesterday morning and I was a blink away from publishing. A blink and the day was gone. Life does move fast, so I had better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Today is gonna be a great day, I know it can feel it. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, one small step after another.

When was the last time you blinked? What happened? 

these bouquets captured my eye - pretty Fall colors, beautiful late summer morning, Fall is on its way
these bouquets captured my eye – pretty Fall colors, beautiful late summer morning, Fall is on its way

10 thoughts on “Blink

    1. I haven’t run into any trees lately, thankfully. Last week was a great week full of opportunities and a few challenges. I still have a smile on face and a laugh in my heart. I keep getting younger. Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day.

  1. You must be such an awesome teacher. If only all students felt as engaged as yours do!

    I can relate to time passing so darn fast. I’m babysitting two of my four grandkids (3 months and just turned two) 9 to 10 hours a day, M – F, then come home and work on writing stuff two to six hours a night, plus weekends, too. The summer zoomed by and it’s hard to believe the holidays are approaching so fast. But life is good, isn’t it!

    1. Life is good and keeping moving is wonderful. Thanks for the compliment. Some days I would agree, some days though….. that’s why I keep at it. Always learning, always moving, always moving ahead, one day at a time. Enjoy those grandkids!

    1. Thanks, Ingrid. I am quirky, and it keeps the kids engaged. Last week was great week and the coming week looks promising even if it means the workload will be a bit different for the students. We’ll keep teaching each other. I can hardly wait.

    1. I read your comment when it came in – but lately, it seems I’m reduced to writing and thinking about writing on one day. Thanks for following along… do you follow a football team in NYC? Which one? Sunday used to mean making my fantasy picks and the whole process aged me – the league dissolved and I am free. but I still love my fall football Sundays. I follow the Oilers (kidding) and flip between the Bengals and the Broncos. Sorry for the ADD moment – a football (or baseball) fan living in NYC would be interesting. Take care and enjoy your day, your week, and your adventures!

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