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Time

Lately I've been thinking a lot about the concept of time.

 How fast it goes.
How there's never enough of it.
How little reverence we have for time.
How we take time for granted.

 And, I've been thinking about this because my oldest daughter just got married this summer. It seems like just yesterday when she was still a little girl, then an adolescent and, before too long, a freshman in college. So, every day now, I ask myself: where did the time go? Did I take advantage of time when my three children were little? Did I pay attention to what was important? Do I pay attention now?

 It's time to make a change. It's never too late, right? We're never too old to take the reins of time (life) in our own hands and steer our own course.

 That's what I'm doing when I search for other outlets to grow as an educator and a professional.

 That's what I'm doing when I push away my fears and commit myself to writing every day and to making it public.

 That's what I'm doing when I sit down with my children - online or in person - to truly listen to them without the myriad distractions that vie for my attention every day.

 That's what I'm doing when I turn towards my partner to talk about anything, rather than away from him to finish the week's lesson plans, which are never finished anyway; they are always co-constructed in the classroom with my students. 

 That's what I'm doing when I admit to myself that time is an illusion we create to avoid facing ourselves.

 That's what I'm doing when I remember, again and for the last time, that what's important are my students and not the next lesson in the writing unit. No one knows my students like I do. No one. 

 That's what I'm doing when I practice responsive teaching, rather than using metrics to determine next steps in my classroom.

 That's what I'm doing by writing this post, making it public, holding myself accountable to my own goals.

 As for me, I celebrate change - a small movement forward - on a weekend morning.

Thanks Ruth Ayres for providing a space to make celebration a part of our weekly routines.





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