Kristin Ackerman
October 7, 2011
I am the kind of person who wants it all. I want to be the best at everything and I want to do it all with grace and confidence and a sense of humor. I want to be a great wife, mother, teacher, and friend. However, I am painfully aware of my inability to successfully fill every role every day. Pushing to do more and be more is a never ending pursuit and yet I am unable to let it go.
One afternoon I was driving home from school feeling like a curmudgeon because everything went wrong all day. I left my little boys lunch on the counter (and I had to leave school to grab it and race back), spilled coffee all over myself, bombed a writing lesson, and dealt with a disgruntled parent who felt that their child deserved all A's even though they didn't earn them. I was wallowing in self pity on that drive home when my little boy said, "Hey mom! I gotta tell you something! Magic fairy dust was sprinkled on my lunch and the pirates from Neverland dropped it off just in time for me to eat! Isn't that SO cool?" (How can anyone not love the mind of a 4 year old!) So, even though I forgot his lunch, ruined a lesson, and ticked off a parent, I redeemed myself with fairy dust! A little perspective goes a long way doesn't it?
Teachers are busy people. We are trying to juggle curriculum, the well being of our kids, parents, colleagues, as well as manage our own households. We will probably have a day where everything seems to go wrong but we always have a choice. We can choose to be a curmudgeon or we can choose to look for fairy dust! I am choosing to look for fairy dust.