Here I am 3 weeks into summer vacation and I am finally starting to feel it unfolding. Maybe more like I’m settling in to the relaxed vibe that the word summer exudes. When I think of a legit summer I think of the sun shining down on my face and the hours of the day getting mixed up in my mind where I start losing count until my stomach tells me it is past lunch or maybe even dinner. Where no one seems to care how the day unfolds as long as we each have voice in the unfolding… where we meet each other where we are at. Oh, the possibilities! It’s been years since I had a summer opened up to possibilities, one that can refuel my passions and spark new ones along the way. This is my summer!
Today starts my 5 week L.E.G.I.T. Summer Journey with ME, MYSELF, and I. This is what I need to be a better me.
A better me serves others greater.
A better me leads in an outstanding way.
A better me ignites the passion in my learning as well as others.
I need to remember how to find my joy, my smile, my heart, and simply my love for life. Not that I lost it completely, but at times I find my own joy secondary when it is actually possible to nurture both at the same time. As many know, this past year I lost my precious friend, my confidant, my mother in law, my go to person. Some may think enough time has passed. Many remind me she is in a better place so I should not feel so bad. Some even think that it may be easier because I have the summer off to focus on relaxing and regrouping. I only wish others would stop speaking for me. Stop thinking for me. Just stop. I wish others would not try to remind me about the beautiful place she is in without me. I miss her. I am lost without her each day… especially on each family adventure because it is yet another “first” alone with the boys… all 4 of them, including my beloved father in law. I am trying, but my girl is gone and I sit here alone in my thoughts trying to take in the goodness around me. Trying to put on the smile that so easily swept my face when she was by my side.
My thoughts take me back to another person’s story. When I first heard this young man speak, my heart ached for him. I remember just wanting to hug him. After losing mom, I went back to YouTube and searched for the video again. Crazy how I thought he knew how I felt. Someone I had never met. Never even talked to. Yet, by sharing his story he entered my heart. Just like him, I was jealous… she was gone from me. Happy. Happy without me. I found that this video met me where I was at… uncomfortably jealous, wishing the best that this world had to give, and yet knowing it was not enough.
Starting with the L in L.E.G.I.T. is what I need most, as that in itself can make or break anyone!
The L stands for: LOCATE their coordinates- meet them where they are at!
I chuckle at the thought… how do I meet myself where I am at if I don’t even know that answer myself? I feel like my very own GPS has gone ROGUE and is spinning around signaling that I am off the grid. How do I locate myself? To me it starts with one question!
What brings me joy? When you think of the feelings that come with this one word, than you know why it starts right here. If I can answer this question I will at least know where to start on this journey.
- Start simple. As simple as fresh air… it clears my mind. The kind that you get when you sit on your porch and sip your first cup of coffee in the morning. The kind that you breath in when you are on a walk when there is barely a sign of life around you. The kind that blows through your hair as you sit close by the water and allow your mind to drift off into the place that holds your heart… your soul.
- Laughing… I need people around me who lift me up with their simple abundance of joy. My true person is silly. Prior to the worries of others, I was a “jokester”, or maybe the joke! I do not need a circus act, I just need life’s humor that reminds us to not take things so seriously. I need those who don’t overthink my actions or attempt to outdo the ones around us, but just live in the moment… simple silly fun.
- Love… the kind that is unconditional. The kind that allows me to be me and does not cast judgement. The kind that doesn’t ridicule my passions, but steps out of the way so that I can relish in them. The kind that puts their hand out and holds mine when I am a little unsteady. The love that knows a hug solves most every problem. The kind that I held on to my entire life, even when the darkness of clouds tried to threaten me with storms. I will always reach out to goodness… it is my survival skill. It is what created the person I am today. The purest of love is true goodness.
- Growth… as much as I like to relax and take in the quiet beauty of nature, I must have opportunity around the bend for growth. Whether I am headed to a conference, a workshop, reading a blog or an eduFAVE book, I need to be gaining ground in my own world. I love to write. It isn’t just a passion for me, it is a survival skill. When I was a child I needed it. I need ONE trusting “person” to pour my soul to. I needed ONE “person” in my corner. I needed “ONE” to tell me NEVER give up! That I should dream… DREAM BIG and MAKE IT HAPPEN! That ONE was my writing. For me, keeping it in was debilitating. Not letting it out in search of better was keeping me stagnant… being stagnant is suffocating for me. I need to know there is more out there AND that with hard work I can obtain it. When I write it, it becomes real and I own it.
These are my coordinates… Simple… Silly… Loving… Growth. They are all built on relationships. I am blessed with so many incredible people in my life. Beyond family, I have the gift of my PLN/PLF. My PLN meets me where I am at. They accept me, push me, laugh with me, love me, grow with me, and celebrate with me! Life is good. #Tlap #LeadLAP #MasteryChat #REALedu #IMMOOC #CelebratED #JoyfulLeaders #4OCFpln #TeachBetter
What are your coordinates? Share… tell your story. Let’s meet and grow together!
T.R.U.E. G.R.I.T. 