March 7, 2013
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The Daily News1 So…my sniffles walked into a bar…2 They sometimes do that.3 It is amazing at how out of whack we become after a day off from work.4 Here’s a secret.5 I do not like being absent from my students, even for a day.6 I must confess that I worried about taking time off to stay healthy for the huge storm that approaches.7 It is a marathon, not a sprint.8 When you teach, you are all about your students.9 Oh, there were other things.10 But staying healthy and strong at this point in the year becomes essential.11 As a result, I’m back to work in a day.12 I think.13 Moving on, Part the First: I think.14 I was going to say something right after “I think.”15 I forgot what it was.16 I then looked back, and realized I had already said plenty in two words.17 That’s probably what gave me the sniffles to begin with. I think. Sometimes I think too much.18 I’m feeling much better now.19 Moving on, Part the Second: The other day I was going through some tremendously serious stresses when a friend of mine came up to me and asked me how I was doing.20 I turned my head, looked at her, and said, “I’m a fighter. When life throws stuff at me, I strengthen; I walk tall, and I bash it in the face. Throw it at me and I will wrestle it to the floor and win. While everyone else weakens, I refuse. I want to light up the end of this school year; I want to face every challenge and come out on top every time!”21 She looked up at me with a huge smile, because most teachers at this point in the year have trouble opening their left eyes in the morning. When it’s on, it can really become overwhelming sometimes. You work all day and all of the night when it’s on.22 No lie.23 It’s like being perpetually in grad school, or like being a cop or a doctor.24 You can’t teach and leave it on the field at the end of the day. There are physical deadlines you have to meet. You have to know what is happening with each student, and you can have well over 150 students.25 My friend has been working on the committee preparing a visit from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, the people who put an accreditation stamp on our school.26 You know how meat companies have to have people come in and put a stamp of approval on meat?27 These guys do this for schools. They walk through watching everything we do, looking at data. writing notes, and finally, they give us a report telling us how many years of accreditation we receive.28 It stresses the entire staff out, because we want six years. The best we have ever done is three, even though we have the highest test scores in the district.29 It is crunch time, because they are coming through next week. They will ask some of us questions about abstract things that are nearly incomprehensible.30 People are stressed beyond belief. On top of everything else we need to do, we have to go to meetings and read massive amounts of things that are ridiculously convoluted, and that add hours of stress and nervousness.31 So when she saw me being positive and strong, she broke into an enormous smile.32 As I walked away, I turned and saw her smile.33 I then gave a parting shot: “Actually, I’m pretty sure I’m going to have a complete and total nervous collapse right now.” She broke into laughter.34 I smiled.35 I smiled and walked off knowing that she thought I was kidding.36 Good.37 That’s probably as it should be.38 A large part of it was true though. Seriously.39 Moving on, Part the Thoid: Hey, in 2013, just getting up and walking around is stressful for most of us.40 In my lifetime I’ve never been through a stranger or more stressful set of years.41 I tend to think of myself as that strong person. I have always needed to be a rock for people.42 And yet I sense the stress everyone seems to be going through.43 It’s funny because when I said those words, I was trying to be facetious, yet when I walked away, I felt stronger just by hearing my own words.44 It was all sort of odd.45 You are what you pretend to be, I imagine.46 Moving on, Part Four: You are what you pretend to be is a paraphrase of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. As I recall, it has a corollary that goes something like this: ”So be very careful about what you pretend to be.”47 Oh, I imagine.48 He wrote those exact words and used them all the time.49 Oh, I imagine.50 I understand those words much more now, and I understood them pretty well when I was a younger lad.51 Maybe I am that strong.52 If I pretend to be strong, and to be an inspiration and a rock in times like these, then am I strong, inspirational, and rocky?53 Oh, I imagine.54 <lion yawn>55 Good times, good times.56 I think I’ll put today’s DN to bed. I hope it made someone out there strong, inspirational, and rocky.57 Live life.58 Love life.59 Stay strong.
60 Peace.~H~
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