The year is flying by, but the weeks are still long, and this time of the school year is tough. Spring fever is settling in along with Covid fatigue which makes each day just a little more challenging. If there is one thing that living through a global pandemic has taught me is this – there are far too many people in my life I take for granted.

Today’s post is an ode to teachers. Teaching is a nurturing profession, yet most teachers don’t take time to nurture themselves. This year especially has been a test of our courage and strength, our creativity and passion, and our self-confidence and endurance. I see you my friends, colleagues, and online teaching communities. You are seen.

You may not feel it,
but I see you.

I see you
Working – coming in early,
staying late,
working through lunch periods

I see you
Checking – on your colleagues –
on your students –
Tracking down assignments

I see you
Straining – under the weight
of demands being
placed upon you.

You may not feel it,
but I see you.

I see you
Struggling – exhausted
before the day begins
crying when you think
no one knows.

I see you
Worrying – about the sad ones –
the ones who are acting out –
the ones who try to be invisible.

I see you
Smiling – putting on a happy face
while your spirit
is breaking.

You may not feel it,
but I see you.

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What are you going to do to nurture yourself tonight? Turn off the email and put away the school bag. Do what makes you happy, what lightens your heart, what fills your soul. You deserve it!

It is better to add life to your days than days to your life.

Rita Levi-Montalcini

On the board ledge next to my desk at school sits a perpetual calendar. Each day I flip the page and read the quote and look at the accompanying picture. Each day I try to find something to relate to either in the quote or in the picture, something to help get me through my day. The above quote was today’s offering; it gave me pause.

I believe that we all have a finite number of days here on Earth as outlined in the plan set forth for each of us by our creator. As I get older, I sometimes (not too often) think about how many days I may have in front of me. I know for sure the number is less than the days behind me, but today’s quote reminded me that the number of days is insignificant. It is what you do with your days that counts.

These past 13 months have been a huge wake-up call. Having so many people and things taken away from me threw me into an eternal case of the doldrums. I went to work, came home, ate dinner, and crashed. Every day was the same, and finding joy was difficult. Lately, I have been making a concerted effort to “add life to my days.”

Here is how it is going –

• I have made time to read and have finished two books.
• I weeded the front flower beds and helped my husband spread mulch (well, I supervised).
• I had an overnight visit with my granddaughters. We made crafts, read stories, wrote stories, played “school,” played Candyland and Greedy Granny. It was exhausting and the best weekend I have had in a LONG time.
• I am watching the Phillies games after dinner (not always pleasant though).
• I am driving with the car windows open.
• I am starting to plan for a couple of get-aways.
• I am meeting friends for outdoor visits after school.
• I ordered a new outfit for my sister’s wedding in June.

While everyone’s idea of “adding life” is different, and mine may seem mundane, these are little steps to regaining the joy that I let the pandemic steal from me. What should I do next week? Schedule a take-out night? Have a lunch date with my husband?

What are you doing to add life to your days? What suggestions do you have for me?

During the month of March, I successfully completed the Slice of Life Story Challenge. At the end of the month my writing life was feeling energized, and I committed myself to the Poem a Day challenge where as the title indicates, I would write a poem each day for the month of April. I made it eight days!

In the interest of my love of poetry writing, I had to stop. To me, poetry is like a fine meal; it takes time to prepare and time to enjoy. My poems were becoming more like fast food than fine dining. If this were an episode of Chopped, I would be the first chef going home.

Sometimes goals have to be re-evaluated, and plans need to be changed. That’s OK. I had to repeating this to myself, because I felt like I was letting someone down by not continuing to write a poem every day. Who was I letting down? My millions of followers? Myself? I write almost every day even when I do not publish a blog post. I don’t know why that isn’t enough. Why am I feeling like I failed?

Over the weekend I spoke with my daughter and was telling her my tale of woe. She suggested that I might be putting to much on my “to do” list and that my expectations were too ambitious. She really got me thinking.

Goals should be realistic and attainable or else you are setting yourself up for failure. While wanting to write a poem a day and admiring my circle of writing friends who do, is a nice thought, I know that realistically I can’t do it for a couple of reasons. First, this school year is just so demanding, and some days I don’t get to write until way past the time of coherent thinking. Secondly, poems don’t come quiet as freely to me as prose. I need to spend more time on a poem before I feel ready to share.

So I decided that I am going to feel satisfied that I wrote a poem for the first eight days of April and let it go at that. Hopefully I will write a post a few more before the end of the month, but if not; that’s ok too.

How about you? Are you being kind, patient, generous, and accepting of yourself? Are you cutting yourself a break? If not, you should. It is refreshing!

Sunday was the day! On Sunday, we gathered at my son’s house to celebrate Easter. All of the kids and grandkids were there, and my husband had the day off. The weather was perfect fo the egg hunt, and the grandkids loved it.

Sunday was the day! Three of six adults are completely vaccinated while the other three get shot two this week. It had been over a year since we all were in the same room together. Even though we still were wearing masks and the visit wasn’t long with the entire family, it was wonderful! There were hugs for the first time in over a year!

Sunday was the day! I cannot even describe the feeling I had as I hugged my children and grandchildren. I wouldn’t say we were an overly affectionate family, but there are definitely kisses and hugs when we enter and leave each others’ company.

Sunday was the day! I felt hopeful for the first time in a long time.