Lessons Learned in 2007

So as 2008 starts to rapidly roll forward, it is time that I get on in sharing my Lessons from 2007.  I encourage you all to share with me, and other friends and family, what you have learned the past twelve months as well.

1.  First, I must open with the chilling realization that no one is safe.  Period.  In recent headlines, the citizens of Georgia have see an apparently charismatic, lovely young lady go from missing to dead to tortured and decapitated by a crazy old man.  Then, on a more personal note, I watched as a young girl I went to high school was found lifeless at the bottom of a lake (pond?) where she was last seen jogging with her dog in Athens.  Details still unfolding.  And, still very tragically, I cannot forget or dismiss that a friend of mine lost her brother to the inexplicable tragedy at Virginia Tech.  She and her family are turning that mess into a forum for gun control reform, and rightly so.  The point of all this is that, within our cozy little worlds, we can be jolted into terror and tragedy unknown; whether it be to us personally, or to a loved one of someone we know.  Regardless, we must never -to paraphrase a country song,- “take one single breath for granted.”

2.  Work is work.  It’s not supposed to be something we can effortlessly glide through, nor something which we can do without.  I find it oddly comforting and frustrating that my job has constantly thrown wrenches in my best laid plans for my students.  I have had to continuously be on my toes.  Perhaps it keeps me awake and alert.  Or perhaps it’s part of what draws me to the Mexican restaurant down the street each week for the chips, dip, delicious food, and the big mug of beer.

3.  Which leads me to the 3rd lesson: routine.  I love my and my husband’s routines.  We have our “date nights” that I greatly look forward to.  Okay, so I didn’t “learn” this in the past year; I’ve known this since we started dating.  However, my appreciation for these little things grows and grows with each little stressor in our lives.

4.  Finding your dream home is amazing.  Filling it with 30-years worth of furniture (thanks to your in-laws flying south) can be both humbling and overwhelming.  It is neat to know that we have certain pieces of furniture that Tim and his family used years and years ago, and to think of the history behind it.  It is sad, however, to think about WHY we have it, and why it’s not with his parents anymore.  The comfort lies in knowing that they will frequently be here to visit us, any future grandkids, and all their old stuff for MANY MANY years.

5.  God Bless Craig’s List!

6.  I miss my friends at Magill.  I knew before I left my last school that they were a special group of people with whom to work, and I knew finding another group that clicked like that would be extremely rare.  While I am reaching out and making strides at my current school, I still miss the personalities and the friendships I had there.  Leaving that school was one of the hardest things I had to do, but I simply knew I couldn’t commute for a solid hour each day.  Which leads wonderfully to …..

7.  Having a 13 minute commute kicks ass!  I still get up as early as I did last year, and still don’t get home most days until late (like last year).  But there is something wonderful about knowing that I am 6.9 miles away from work.  That is a luxury to which I have not been previously accustomed.

8.  I am perhaps unique and lucky to have such both wonderful in-laws and parents.  They are amazingly wonderful people, and I’m priveledged to get along with all of them, and have the utmost respect for them.  Even my dad is a good egg sometimes.  😉

9.  Some times those who least expect it have the strongest “Mom genes” (not to be confused with Mom Jeans).  I have watched a good friend of mine transform into a hopelessly devoted mother this year, through the pregnancy and the first few months with her son, whom I’m still DYING to meet!  Years ago, I recall her declaring that she’ll “deal with the kids when they’re old enough to talk and stuff”, and now she can’t wait for her 2nd.  😉  I have seen several wonderful women go through this in the past few years, and they have turned out to be amazing mothers, with beautiful children.

9.  I’ll be thankful come May that today wasn’t a “snow day”, or at least that’s what I keep telling myself.

Okay, folks, that’s my two cents worth.  I look forward to hearing from you all about what 2007 held in store for you all.  Take care, and (better late than never) happy 2008!  🙂

 

Barbara Burns 

“Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.”  – W.B. Yeats

“There is a brilliant child locked inside every student.”  – Marva Collins