new learning

There is a list of things I can say "I am" -- wife, mother, principal, maid, cook, chauffeur, maid, friend, blogger, tweeter and now tedster.

Ted.com is a site I've heard about a few times in the last few months.  I decided to check it out after hearing a great speaker at my last Principals' Meeting.  As I understand it Ted.com began at Harvard.  Guest speakers, the great minds of our times, are video-taped as they speak to the audience.  These tapes are then streamed through Ted.com.  The speeches are all under 20 minutes in length, most at 10-15 min. that I've seen.  I watched a video last week on the importance of compassion.  Last night I watched two -- one from the creator of the "Awesome" book and blog (which I will post about another day) and one by Ric Elias entitled "3 things I learned while my plane was crashing." 

Ted.com has now gone global, so the speakers are not limited to those who present at Harvard.  There are Ted.com conferences world-wide presenting truly great ideas and inspirations from great minds.  It's so exciting to have the opportunity to hear Sir Ken Robinson or Steve Jobs speak for example, or a buddist monk from Tibbet, or a  neurophysicist.  There are over 900 speeches now, and that number is growing.  My plan is to watch at least one a week.  How amazing that such opportunities to learn from amazing people from around the world can come right into my office.


On another note:
Boy and I were talking about my blog this morning.  The conversation went like this:
Boy:  Your blog is my second favourite blog.
Me:  Second.  SECOND? What is the first?
Boy:  The one about firearms.
Me:  silent
Boy:  Maybe you'd have more followers if you incorporated some of that into yours.
Me:  still silent.  Boy leaves.


So here's the thing -- should I be more disturbed about being second place, by the fact that boy reads "firearms blogs," or by the fact that I'm wondering how to incorporate weaponry into mine so it goes up to Boy's first favourite????

A Christmas Story

This isn't a Christmas story in the traditional sense, but it's a story of hope and it is the story of how one of my wishes has come true.  It makes me a bit weepy, and I debated not writing it for that reason (soggy screen and all) but my D S-i-L (Dear sister-in-law) told me I should 'cause it's one of those stories that people like to hear because it tells of good in the world.  So here goes....

Several years ago when I was a lowly vice principal I had a student who spent a lot of time in my office;  partly because he was frequently in trouble and partly because he needed a safe place to go.  Over the two years that he was in my school I got to know him pretty well.  His story broke my heart and  haunted my dreams.  More than once I very nearly brought him home.  DH and I discussed it several times and I had his blessing to do so, should life take us that way.  You see this boy had a wicked step mom, and a blind (figuratively, not literally) mostly absent dad.  His life was unbelievable, and I won't share all that he told me as that is not my story to tell. 

I made repeated calls to the Children's Aid Society.  In the spring of his Grade 8 year I called at least twice a week for months.  Nothing happened.  I was sick at heart to think of what would become of him over the summer and as he went to high school.  Who would know his story?  Where would he go to cry?  I said a quiet prayer every day for his safety. 

In August of that summer I got a phone call from him at my house.  (This is the part where I cry, so excuse the soggy screen.)  He told me he had been removed from his home and taken into foster care.  He really, really liked his foster family and he would not be returning to his father's house.  Then he thanked me.  He said, "thank you for seeing ME, not the jerk I was.  Thank you for not giving up on me.  I am going to be okay now."  After that call I cried and cried. I went to DH and said "I can die tomorrow now.  I have made a difference to one." 

I have thought of that child very often over the years; hoping to get a glimpse of him if I drive through his new town.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago.  That boy, a young man now, came to see me at my school.  He had been to my old school and they gave him directions to find me.  I knew him immediately as he stood at my office door.  (pause -- more kleenex now).  He gave me a big hug and thanked me again.  He came to find me to tell me that he had put college applications in the week before and wanted me to know that.  His marks are amazing and he will likely get into whatever college he chooses. He also volunteers in his new community and he speaks so highly of his new family.  He has reached out to his father and they have begun to rebuild their relationship now that the step mom is out of the picture. 

He also invited me to his high school graduation in the spring.

I am so proud of this child.  He lived through really horrible events and yet he has the heart to be grateful, to be kind and forgiving, to be compassionate to others and to be motivated to do his best.  This is amazing.  I will go to that graduation, and I will be as proud of him as if he were my own. 

At that graduation I will give him a card that tells him all that he means to me.  I will tell him that although he has thanked me, I have yet to thank him.  And I need to.  Because of him I know that prayers are answered.  When I think of him it reminds me what my job is really about, and it is not test scores.  He also reminds me that there are really good people in the world, even if they appear buried in their own circumstance.  When I think of him, it gives me hope.  I know he will do great things in the world and I am so happy to be in it with him.

Merry Christmas. 
Amen.

napping

"Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap."
~Robert Fulghum.


just sayin'....



the nicest thing

I had the nicest thing happen today. I was at a principal's meeting (usually "nice things" don't happen there....) and the Director spoke about visiting my school the day before. He told everyone that one of my staff members had pulled him aside to compliment me. She told him I was one of the reasons she liked coming to work everyday. I got all teary-eyed and flustered when the Director spoke, and everyone clapped. It was so amazing that someone said that about me -- to my boss, and that he shared it with all my colleagues.
I tell you this not for acclamations, but because it made me realize something. I realized that it did not take really any time at all, or much effort on the part of my staff member or the director to change my current perspective. This small kindness, this recognition, reminded me of the important part of my job. I've been a bit bogged down in some things lately, and now I am refreshed.
I am also reminded of the importance of words of appreciation. Too often I think I have taken friends, colleagues, and family for granted. If I can "fly" all day, and find renewed hope in this "nice thing" then I ought to be purposely seeking out "nice things" to share with others.
That's my new mission.

something to think about

Found this link on Twitter. It gave me something to think about.
The more I think on it, the more it makes sense.

Check out "Two Questions that Can Change your Life" at
http://http://www.committedsardine.com/blogpost.cfm?blogID=967

I don't know what my sentence would be. I think I'm with JFK in that I currently have a strange jumbled paragraph complete with run-on sentences, dangling participles and sentence fragments. If someone could see through my jumbled paragraph, I would want them to read "She takes care of her people" be that family, friends, staff, or students. I think that sentence speaks of the things I aspire to -- kindness, compassion, understanding, competence, gratitude, loyalty, honesty and service. Perhaps the point of the defining oneself in a single sentence is to create the vision to follow. Now I need to edit the jumbled paragraph and focus on the vision.

Was I better today than yesterday? Good question. Deep. The kind of thing I will wrap my mind around when I'm doing my gratitude journal before bed.
Then the question becomes "How can I become better tomorrow than I was today?" That's an even better sentence -- sets a goal, creates a vision.

I love reading or viewing something such as this clip; something that is inherently simple, but that cuts right to the point. This clip speaks to me in that it challenges me to reflect and envision. Cool.

deep thoughts

I'm reading a brand new "feel good" book that Library Lynn recommended. It's a novel by Claire Cook called the Wildwater Walking Club. It's about 4 ordinary ladies who connect as they meet on their daily walks. The walking becomes a daily ritual they look forward to in their lives. It's a quick, happy read.
In it one of the characters says " Sometimes you only get one good minute a day...You just have to make the most of it." This thought has stuck with me for 2 busy days, so I think that makes it "blog worthy." I have had the best sleeps the last two nights because I've drifted off thinking about how blessed I am that I can honestly say that I have many, many good minutes in that day; and when I recount them I get a great feeling of peace. I'm waiting for the day (and it will come) when I'll feel like I've only had one good minute -- and then I'll try to be thankful for that, and I'll try to make the most of it.

unexpected inspiration

Today should have been a difficult day -- in fact it was for a few hours, but it ended with inspiration and blessing.
I had to have a tough conversation with one of my staff members this morning-- potentially, due to bureaucracy and union rules, she could lose her job. She was most gracious about it though I expected nothing less. I agreed to call her by the end of the afternoon with whatever decision had been made (both out of her control and mine.) I prayed hard and thought good thoughts.
My wishes came true and she was allowed to keep her position. Good news.
But the best news -- my soul-filling news -- came from her description of her afternoon. This is paraphrasing what she told me:
She said "K, I called the mother of a girl I used to work with. My mother always said that if you are feeling blue, you should help someone else. Her child is severely handicapped and I just figured there is never enough respite care. I told the mother she should go out and get a coffee, or do something for herself. Then I spent the afternoon with her daughter. I could tell by her smiles and drools that she was really happy. When the mother returned I walked outside, looked at the sky and said 'God whatever happens, happens, because I am blessed."
So this is what I learned from an extraordinary lady -- I learned today to be gracious, even in the face of bad news; I learned to be selfless and compassionate, and I learned to recognize how blessed I am. I also learned to recognize the angels in my life -- the ones that turn bad days into inspirations.