Mr. Guy

 It's the last day of the first week of the second semester. My life revolves around and is counted by the weeks I teach. My work. Life and work. I pray every day for the power to carry out God's will. I don't know exactly what that means, I just know that I don't have the answers, but I need to keep showing up. I know where I've gotten my God Concept over the years, but details fade in and out of my mind and I'm glad. I'm thankful to be where I'm at in my Learning Journey. See, even my own thought processes are framed in terms of learning, related directly to my work.

I have been teaching during Distance Learning mandates due to COVID 19. There is so much to unpack in those words, I'm trying not to dive down a rabbit hole chasing some idea as I type this. I'm on my 3rd cup of coffee this morning and my cats are making noise behind me as they play. I'm here, but not fully in the moment. I worked out in the school gym for the last 3 days consistently after everyone had left- it was a very cathartic habit this week, but my bicepts hurt in the crook of my elbows when I straighten my arms. I love it.

My work calendar has 33 reminders that are overdue- but as I scan them, each one has a Next Action designation, which allows me a great sigh of relief. I've been trying very diligently to write what the next action is on each project I work on as I'm working on it before I move to the next one. That practice has been extrememly helpful to be able to just pick back up where I left off before when I get back to the project. A few weeks ago I read the first 5 Chapters of "Getting Things Done" by David Allen, and started making my lists, notes, and capturing my inputs in Google Keep. I don't feel like explaining the details right now. That's another rabbit hole that I'm choosing not to go down.

I attended a memorial last weekend for a student who died in October. I'm still processing the loss of that beautiful boy. I am grateful to have known him, and his unique way of moving through this world was inspirational to many, including myself. He called me Mr. Guy. It makes me smile every time I think of it, although it was annoying at the time.

I'm learning not to take myself so seriously. I have peace of mind when my thoughts are not so heavy. I played golf last weekend 2 times, and I'm playing again today. It's a nice practice of facing failure, trying again, and letting go. Plus I get to hang with my work colleagues/friends and talk about things that are not work.

I'm very hopeful. I've watched Amanda Gorman's inaugural poem, and several interviews with her over the last few days. I'm very inspired to keep climbing the hill.