Longer Light Means Longer Days To Accomplish More of the Daily Grind

Wake up at 6, drink coffee, and get the day started. Write. Think. Write. Think. Write.

Then by 9 a.m. I know I can get a run in before showering, avoiding traffic, and heading to the office. The sun was out and the sky was blue, so I put on shorts. I went outside and said, "Nope." Ran back upstairs and dressed in winter attire. It was beautiful, but it was cold.

By 11 a.m., I was out in schools and by 1 p.m. I was in my office plotting and planning for a crazy Tuesday and Wednesday, including foresight for a presentation that will take place in 3 weeks. I needed to get on that.

By 5 p.m. I was home again and ready to walk the dog (photo left). It was still cold, but the daylight until 8 p.m. makes it easier to get everything done, including a walk and a run during the day.

While walking, however, Glamis and I ran into our neighbor who was walking one of Glamis's best friends. Her dog was diagnosed with cancer on his liver and, sadly, it has grown and the vet told her she might have to make a hard decision soon. That was hard news to hear, and she wasn't feeling so great about having to make the decision. "I will know when it is time. I just don't want him to suffer."

Why would any of us want another to suffer? I ask this of myself daily as I go in and out of schools. Unfortunately, our learning environments are not all equal. In some, suffering is a daily experience, but it is all they really know. The grind is 24/7 challenge and those teachers get used to it: limited resources, a lack of support, difficult family backgrounds, the PTSD of kids, and a lack of time.

Still, they have life. We have life. While it's here, we have to take advantage of it and make the most of it. One of my favorite students of yesteryear posted a good ol' Peanuts cartoon and I have been thinking about it all day. It sort of sums up my thinking for a Monday.

This is what seasons are for. Spring is almost here and rebirth is always in the air. Still, the winter months (and Fall) remind us that everything ebbs and flows. The carefreeness of summer is short-lived. Life has its harder days, too.

I guess it's always best to keep this in perspective. Some day, we will all die, Snoopy...True, but on all the other days we will not.

It's all the perspective and trying to stay centered on what morrow can be slurped while we have it.