Monthly Archives: August 2016

Let’s Not Push It

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The start of a school year is more than exhausting for teachers and students on so many levels. Levels that many people do not realize.

Only a couple of weeks into the year, and teachers and students alike are suffering from colds, bronchitis, and such, thanks to the germ-fest we call school. During the school year it often seems impossible to leave time to rest when you have to attend meetings, plan, get ready for students and live your life.

It’s easy forgot that we are people with limits. That we need to eat, take a break and to have some quiet for bits of time. Balancing teaching and life is really difficult, but balance is the key to healthy teachers and kids. Most of the time what we think has to be done right now, really doesn’t. We need to prioritize what’s essential to have the next day run smoothly, and everything else will get done in due time. We need to lay off the idea that things are so urgent. We should ask ourselves where that pressure is coming from? Most of the time, likely it’s our our extremely high expectations of ourselves. So let’s evaluate what actually needs to get done, and not push ourselves beyond unreasonable limits.

Make a agreement with yourself. Maybe you don’t take work home during the week. Maybe you put your phone away an hour earlier than usual. Maybe you watch something mindless to help you unwind. Do SOMETHING for yourself. Because pushing yourself out of healthy limits isn’t worth it.

Versions of Home

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We all have our own versions of home. For some it’s the house you grew up in, for others it’s where family is.

For me, home is where I love to be, where I’ve grown and become a better person, and where my loved ones are. I’m one of those fantastically lucky people who has physical homes in three countries, and in versions of home in several locations sprinkled around the planet, wherever my loved ones happen to reside.

Last week I came back from a great trip to New York and Washington, D.C. I had been in New York in March and was unsure of my feelings about being back upon arrival. I equated the uneasiness to the poor weather, maybe not enough detachment time yet.

This time, when I arrived to JFK after a long 23 hour journey, I felt like I was coming home to this beautiful summery place. I guess I’ve already become a fair-weather New York lover, completely detaching myself from anywhere/time that will have a temperature less than 25 degrees Celsius… But there’s just something about the beauty of a city being in full bloom and people being in summer mode. It was so lovely and I looked forward to being there.

This trip, I really bounced around, splitting my nights between hotels and friend’s homes, which was fun. I managed to store my luggage as I moved around. Plus summer clothes make it so easy to throw things in a small bag for a night or two, and be on your way. I easily fell into the same summer groove that I’ve known for the past nine summers. The trip to DC was fun and normal, and my conference was fab as usual.

And at the end of a packed 12 days, I felt like I was leaving home to go home, a different version of it anyway. My most comfortable version of home is wherever Brett and I are together, and that could really be anywhere. I have a lot of people to thank for making my trip to my New York home an excellent one, and I look forward to all of my trips home, whether it’s Edmonton, New York, or Singapore… or wherever that may be in the future.

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