Time and Change

This fall has felt like a blur.  I've spent most of it overwhelmed with tasks and lists.  As soon as I see the completion of a to-do item I have two or three to add.  I've been speaking to a lot of people who share my plight.  It seems that this semester has been a difficult one for so many.  We are all trying to be all things for all people.  Teachers are nurturers.  We want to help. We often say yes to too many things.  We get overwhelmed. So, we put our heads down and plow through.  We look up and it's October somehow.

I've been thinking a great deal about the oxygen mask analogy.  You know, the one they tell you when you fly- put your oxygen mask on first so you can help your child or others around you. My oxygen mask has been draped around my neck.  What I've learned is that I think I'm productive this way but I'm truly not.  I fall further behind.  I forget the things I love about my work.  I forget to see the joy.  I forget to grow and stretch and learn how to be better at my job.  I go through the motions and check things off of a list.  I cannot stop the passage of time and I can't create more of it but I can make a change.  I can begin to prioritize and do some things to nourish my soul.  This includes writing this blog tonight while a list with twelve starred items sits beside me wanting my attention.  I need to take time out and take a view from above and see the big picture.  I need to reconnect the dots between what I have to do and what I want to do so it can all be what I want to do.  It was like that and it can be again.  I just have to dedicate myself to the change.  

So, if you are feeling like me, then it's time for a change.  Wyoming Writing Project has now become Wyowrites.  We continue to be dedicated to supporting teachers as writers and as instructional leaders of writing in their classrooms.  The name has changed but the mission has not.  Our first activity as Wyowrites is our fall book study on the book Renew! published by Stenhouse Publishing.  On their website it is currently on sale for $16.  We will be holding on site book study meetings, virtual book study meetings, and  on-going conversation between all who are reading this book from the end of October until early December.  The book we've selected is about renewal.  It is a perfect choice for these crazy times.  Please take the time to register and join the conversation.  I think it will provide an opportunity for you to focus and share and relax and remember why we do what we do every day.  Registration can be found here:https://goo.gl/forms/mQGDP9GPsoemDIFw2

Think of the book study as a way to put on your oxygen mask so you can best support your students and help yourself be the best that you can be.  That's my plan and I can't wait to connect with you!