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Entry date: 11-25-2023 – Pulling a Hammer – Letters to My Friends

Dear Friends,


I’m getting a little bit too fond of sleeping in and lazily diving into the daily thoughts. Every time I have a short break like this, it seems like it would be so much easier to just be able to go and do and be on no schedule at all. Retirement sounds good.


But alas, I’m not close to retiring. I’ll be working for a good long while and probably will always be typing away on some keyboard until my fingers no longer work. What else would I do with my time?


*****


Yesterday was a nice day. We got our dishes done (mostly Rhondi, but I did dry stuff to keep the line moving and took over when she was ready for a short siesta). After a bit, we headed over the J’s and had a wonderful dinner and some fire time. It was good for the soul, as usual.


*****


The rest of the house beckons us, though, still. Children are sleeping here and there, and the house is quiet. Cleaning can happen later. I’m off for lunch with a friend of Jeff’s who wants to ask some questions about becoming a teacher. It feels good to be able to help someone else on this journey. Hopefully I have many of the answers he is looking for today.


I had a few people help me over the years, but maybe not as many as one might think. The small handful who have been most encouraging and happy to help are well outnumbered by long bitter educators who can (or could) no longer see why anyone would want to be in a classroom.


On my journey, I had to interview a good number of teachers for different grad school classes and even took a few classes from teachers who clearly did not want to teach anymore. I can see how the profession sucks the joy out of you. Some days it sucks the joy out of me.


I’ll have to share this today, too. The dark side where you think you have no business being in a classroom. Impostor syndrome at its finest. Fun stuff, truly, where you think you have zero ability to lead, make a decision, or foster young minds in any capacity.


I won’t be that guy, though. I will tell it like it is and hopefully what I share will help Brandon make a good decision that works best for him. The world can certainly use another good teacher, but if not, I’m sure there are ways he can contribute that will help him satisfy the need to do good things for others.


You must have this need to be a good teacher. You must want the best for another person and be able to balance that with making sure you get a little of what you need, too. I’ve always been pretty good at keeping the scales as balanced as possible, but there are days when they get way out of whack, too.


Balance is a good thing.


*****

I wonder what the Cocaine Baby is up to right now. I hope someone is telling him they love him.


See you tomorrow.



A large percentage of my blog pictures involve clouds. I blame Georgia O'Keefe.

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