Fifteen. Fifteen days until the last day. The last day of school!
This time of year is so hard. Hard for teachers. Hard for students. Hard for parents. Patience is being tried by many things – antsy kids, deadlines, grading, changes to the schedule – the list can go on and on. A person could very easily be prone to behaving badly, but what would that prove? Who would benefit from the impatience?
Instead, I am going to try and be even more patient than normal. How am I going to accomplish this? I have compiled a list of 15 things I could do for 15 minutes to help reduce the stress of these last 15 days. Some of these things could be done in school, and others can only happen after school or at home. In no particular order…
- take a walk
- Chai latte from Starbucks
- meditate/breathe
- listen to music
- sit on the deck
- ride the recumbent bike
- yoga/stretching
- take a long shower & use an aromatherapy shower steamer
- write in my gratitude journal
- watch a stand-up comedian
- connect with a friend
- read
- pray
- power nap
- walk in the pool (this one is longer – have to go to the gym.)
I am thinking about putting these in a 15-block grid and choosing one a day to be my reward for keeping my cool in school. It will be like an end-of-the-year bingo game for one. Let me know if you have any tricks for holding onto your patience when it is being tested.
Rita DiCarne 
YOU CAN DO IT! I love the idea of a 15-block grid. I am going to copy that idea!
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I appreciate how you point out that patience is not passive, it is active. How do we behave? Like the other commenters, I love your 15/15/15 idea and grid idea.
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What an excellent idea! Even as a retiree, I would benefit from this ‘meditative grid.’ Best wishes in these final days! You are prepared!
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I so enjoyed reading this slice and am seeing that BINGO board now taking shape. Just today, I had my own tears due to a stressful incident and I took a walk after school and stopped along the path to sit and journal and I feel SO much better! I do think you will make it because you have a plan!
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Oh, this is genius. Maybe I need to make a bingo grid for the upcoming move with things that will help me slow down and savor my last few weeks in the Pacific NW.
When I read your teaser, I wanted to reply, “Of course you can, of course you can!” That’s not to negate how hard those final weeks are. Before retirement, I used to refer to crawling across the finish line each June.
And I love how you’re striving for more patience daily and then adding more self-care into these last weeks. Good for you! Hang in there.ee
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