May?

I completely forgot about this blog. How is that possible?

I have had such intense tunnel vision over these last 4 months, I haven't been able to think about anything but our new house (woohoo!) and my job (take over as a maternity leave sub as I finish my internship hours? Why not!) It has been intense and exhilarating and exhausting. But the blog popped into my head the other day, which may be a good sign that I am starting to tiptoe back to my regular self that can make thoughts and form ideas and string words into sentences.

Last Friday was my graduation day! It is funny, because although I have "graduated," I continue my routine in the exact same way until the end of June. So, this graduation does not mark an ending for me, but I'm grateful to have taken part in the ritual. My parents came to the graduation with Alex, and my whole family came to stay at our new house. I was so proud to show them what we have done to the place, and how much I love it here! I always love having all of us together too. We lounged in the sun in the back yard and listened to the birds. The little ones invented games with sticks, and the dog napped on the lawn. It was such a charmed weekend. I'm grateful to be able to be more present as the weather warms up and new life is blooming everywhere!

I also feel like I am growing at work. Sometimes (always), I forget how painful the learning process can be. I hate the part of not knowing, but that's what learning is. You can't learn anything new if you knew it already! I am so eager to please people and keep everyone happy...but I forget that the first priority of my job is doing what is best for children, and sometimes that means standing up to people that I admire and respect, and respectfully disagreeing. And insistently disagreeing. I always knew that was hard for me...but I am reminded this week.

I went to a conference today, and one of the speakers made a very brief point that was extremely poignant for me as it relates to what I am experiencing at work this week. When children misbehave, or even do something dangerous -- rather than think about what an appropriate *punishment* would be, think about what an appropriate *prevention* strategy is to stop you from getting to that same place again. Simple, but brilliant.