Ready for March - SOLSC 2021

In preparation for March, I was reminded to reflect on my OLW. Would I be sticking with the same word or switching it up for the Month. I'll get to my decision shortly.

As I reflected, I also thought about what the month of March had in store for me. There are so many things happening in March that require me to show up as a teacher, a mom, and a writer.

The Slice of Life Story Challenge

Spring Break

Read Across America Day

(Probably the entire month for me and my Scholars)

Early Release Day = Campus-Based PD

Scholars' Birthdays

Asynchronous Day = A Day of Teacher Planning

Virtual Open House

(Don't Ask)

Son's Baseball Season

(Proud Baseball Mom Here)

These are just a few of the things happening in March; a few of the things I "get to" show up and do. As for my OLW, I chose FEARLESS as my overarching word for 2021. For the month of March, I plan to approach each of my "get-tos" CONFIDENTLY!

Alright now March! I'm confident I'm ready for you. I hope you're ready for me.

How Can I Help You?

I received a phone call from colleague late this afternoon. Usually when either one of us calls the other, topic is something school related. This phone call was no different. (I will explain soon.) I thought it strange because we haven't been in school since March 12 thanks to the snowpocalypse that shut our school district down.

The Back Story: 

Due to the planned consolidation of our school and another school, my colleague and I are in a similar situation. Our placement for the 2021-2022 school has not been decided. In January, we both received the same emailed letter informing us that we had "not been placed yet."

Why She Called Me

Well, today my colleague received an email from a principal who is offering her a position. You would think my colleague would be overjoyed, but she wasn't. She was anxious and unsure of whether she should or wanted to accept. So, she called me. She said, "I was sitting here anxious, sick to my stomach, and something told her to call Norris."

As we talked, I checked my email. I received an offer from the same principal. I let my colleague know that I would be accepting the offer. She calmed. She seemed reassured that someone (me) would be at the same school. She said she would accept as well.

My Take Away

Back in November, I had already made the decision to let go and let God handle "this whole placement thing". Life has a way of being stressful enough, and I didn't want to constantly be thinking or worrying about something I could not control. I believed, and still believe, that my placement next year would be exactly where I was meant to be. 

I wonder if there are times in our lives that we have to endure a situation or go through something in order to be able to help someone else in the same or similar situation.  I think that's what happened today. I'm so glad I could help.

Guilt

 I live in Texas. 

We have had some very uncommon weather over the last two weeks. We are currently experiencing record low temperatures, record high snowfall, and the highest demanding for electricity in years.

My school district has cancelled school for today and tomorrow, so far. The school district in which I live has closed school for the rest of the week.

Thousands of  people have lost power. Some have experienced intermittent restoration of power, but many are going on 36+ hours without electricity, heat and/or gas.

Concerned individuals have been reaching out via various platforms to make sure my family and I are okay. 

Each time I respond, I feel guilty, because (thankfully) we never lost power. I know I have no reason to feel guilty. But, I do.

I hope and pray people don't have to endure these hardships too much longer.

The Power of Prayer

I wholeheartedly believe in the power of prayer. I believe in a higher being who is all-knowing, everywhere at all times, and who was, is, and is to come. I believe that when I pray Jesus hears my prayers and intercedes on my behalf to God the Father.

This morning I completed my daily Bible reading and journaling. I prayed for the people on my prayer list and thanked God for the blessings, the healings, and the other ways he had shown himself faithful.

After my workout and breakfast, I took a shower, and for some reason I began to praise God for very simple, everyday things...hot water, soap, my job, my school, our principal. 

I don't remember having a conscious thought that "I should praise God right now". I felt or sensed that I should...so, I did.

This evening just before I started this post, my daughter called to inquire about something I had been praying about concerning her (she was not aware that I had been praying) - a situation that required waiting for someone else to make a decision on our behalf or not - accepted or denied.

I explained the facts of the matter to her as I understood them to be regarding the situation. Neither of us were happy with the facts of the matter. It seemed that we would need to continue to wait.

A short time later, my daughter, upon doing further research, sent photo evidence that completely contradicted the facts as we understood them. It seems a decision had been made - in our favor.

What I had been praying for...what I had asked my Connect Group from church to pray for...God had worked the matter out.

I wholeheartedly believe in the power of prayer.

A Fairly Uneventful Day, Until...

 How is it possible to struggle with generating an idea to Slice about?

So many different things happen throughout the day.

I got up early and worked out this morning. But, nothing memorable happened.

I made my usual drive to work this morning. But nothing memorable happened.

I taught Scholars in a hybrid remote learning environment. But, nothing memorable happened. Although, I am very impressed with the growth my Scholars are making during small group reading time.

I attended TELPAS training. It's a Texas thing. Then, planned with my team. But, I probably shouldn't write about that.

My drive home was uneventful...a blessing actually. Afternoon traffic can be intense, sometimes.

I will say, however, something surprising happened this evening during my Tuesday writing group. I got to meet, via Zoom, someone I had only known through interactions on Twitter. My Twitter-Friend, DH joined my writing group, and I could not have been more excited to put see his face and hear his voice. Now, we get to communicate beyond the occasional Tweet.

So, I guess I really did have something to write about. I guess I just needed to start writing this post for it flow onto the page.

The Impact on the Future

 I was recently interviewed for an oral history project. Besides it being an honor to be asked,  it was exciting to share my poetry and my experiences in education during (COVID-19) this pandemic.

As I started to think beyond myself, and the deeper implications, I realized that future Scholars will have access to the authentic words, thoughts, and feelings of every teacher-poet that participants in this project.

I thought about several questions: What will they learn form our experiences? How will our words be interpreted / received? Will our poetry adequately depict what we are currently experiencing, what teaching is really like, the current climate, the atmosphere, and the circumstances of this time?

I really hope so. Ii think I can safely say, "Not many of us teachers ever expected that we would have to navigate teaching during a pandemic." I know I didn't.

Being a part of this project makes me proud (in a humble way) that my words are being used to document such a time as this.

I'm Not Going to Take It Anymore (sing it if you know it)

 So...(long pause)...I recently said yes (one of the effects of choosing FEARLESS as my OLW) to an opportunity the quite frankly scares the BEEEEP out of me.

I seem to have a special fear when it comes to the thought, the very thought, of blogging and writing for a professional purpose that so many professionals in my field could potentially read.

I got curious about this fear, (Thanks Jennifer Laffin for the suggestion.), and heres what I came up with...

•     Will people sense my fear as they read my words? 
•     Will they be able to tell how inadequate I feel?
•     Will readers find error/fault with what I have to say?
•     Will they receive the message I intend to transmit?

I know I can't let fear stop me from writing, from putting my words out in the world. I won't let it stop me. I will wear discipline like a cloak, designate a daily write time, and get the words written and published.

So Fear,

Thank you so much for being ever-present. You remind me that I have great things to do. I believe you come around to warn me, but also to hinder my greatness. And, you know what? I'm not going to take it anymore. I will not allow you to stop me. You, Fear, are welcome to move on. You don't have to go home, but have to get the BEEEP out of here. I, too, am moving on...on to GREATNESS.

Deepest Regards,

Donnetta