Thursday, February 26, 2015

It is what it is

Today made the 6th day in 2 weeks we have been out of school. Now you have to remember, I live in the south. Mississippi does not get snow and ice on a regular basis so this has been quite different for us. I have rescheduled 9 weeks exams and STAR tests 4 times. We are supposed to start state testing next week. Did you hear what I said? We have gone to school 2 1/2 days in 2 weeks. In those 2 weeks were supposed to do have 9 weeks tests and STAR testing. That hasn't happened and now we have to state test. I woke up this morning (out of school again) with a massive headache and my husband said, "Are you stressed?" Haha.
I took a breath and realized he was right. I had let this stress me completely. I had taken the whole problem on my shoulders. My teachers and students are very important to me. Their happiness and stress free life is very important to me. So I wanted to take all the stress off of them and try to fix all. Did I mention I'm a middle child. That means I'm a fixer. So for 2 weeks I have been trying to fix our weather problem. Guess what? It isn't working. I have finally realized I'm only in charge of my school- not the weather. I have always said, "It is what it is, and that is all it is." I have even said I want that on a t-shirt.  
It's time for me to remember that. It's time to put things into perspective. I'm going to school tomorrow, I'm going to greet my students that I haven't seen in a while, and I'm going to talk to them about the snowmen I know they built. I want to hear about their sledding and their snowball fights. The tests last just a couple of days but these memories will last forever. What's important in life is suddenly apparent. 
My stress is gone, my thoughts are clear: "It is what it is, and that's all it is. 



4 comments:

  1. "I'm only in charge of my school, not the weather." Love this statement, Monica!

    When we are used to being the one in control and making decisions, we forget that we really aren't. God has given you some wonderful time with your family, time that you probably don't get very often. Have a great day back at school tomorrow!

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  2. Monica,

    Great reminder to focus on what's in our control and let the rest go. It will all come together if we stay focused on what we can do to help our students. Glad you finally made it back to school!;)

    Jon

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  3. I read this awhile back and thought I commented. THIS is a great post about what is really important and where we should focus our energy. Work around the tests. They'll be there. The moments with kids, family and staff won't.

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  4. Monica this is so important and something that I must constantly keep reminding myself. I am in the middle of a two month testing window and it is easy to let that get the best of me, but I can't. The number of moments I have left with my kids under my roof are finite and I must try to take advantage of them and focus on what matters most. Thanks for the reminder and hopefully we can keep each other focused.

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