a blessing.

my mother sent me a package this past week. a simple package. a card. and a lap-quilt she handmade for me. both were gorgeous. and both made me smile. and made tears come to my eyes. the card had a great message. letting go… it’s not about giving up (which is how i had been viewing it), but instead it’s about ‘making room in your life and in your heart for something new.’

i am making room for new things. through the heartache. i am carving out space for those things i used to love and had forgotten about. i am remembering that escapades are fun. that i know how to have a good (even great) time with people i hardly know. that i am full of desire. full of greatness. and full of so much that so many want to be a part of.

in the past week and a half i have been blessed. with friends who have stood by my side. with friends who have held me up. held me as i fell apart. and held me as i danced my heart out. new friends who have held me in moments i never thought i would be a part of. new friends who have taken me swimming at midnight in my underwear. new friends and old friends who have treated me with more respect than i remembered i was worth.

this is a blessing. i am worth it. and for anyone else out there. you are worth it. you are worth so much more than you may imagine. you deserve to be treated like a lady. like a woman (or a gentleman). you deserve to be lifted up. to have a shirt buttoned for you. or dress unzipped. you deserve to be offered breakfast. you deserve to have your door opened. you deserve everything. (as long as you’re willing to offer it all back to the other person).

friendships. relationships. they are all two way streets. and that is what makes them magical. they require communication. they require commitment. and they require a true desire. and when that is in place. they are simply a blessing.

transformation.

they give up before even beginning. scared to make a mistake. but how do you progress in life if you never take a leap?

learning is not about perfection. it is about mistakes. about time. effort. thought. looking beyond what you think you are capable of. beyond what you have been told in life.

education can transform you (if you let it).

my hand surgeon thanked me today. for making him look good. he did his job. put my bones back together (albeit with a metal plate and three screws). but i did my job. i put in my effort, too. i went to therapy. i did exercises to improve my flexibility. i used my wrist (even when it scared me to do so).

but because we both put in the effort. the work. my surgery (and recovery) has been successful.

the parallel between the practice of surgery and the practice of education is remarkable. surgeons may excel at their job, putting together something from broken pieces. but if the patient does not do their part… exercise, go to therapy, work on the problem… then the results will not be as expected.

in the same fashion. as educators, we may excel at our jobs. we may have great teaching methods. awesome materials. and a fantastic positive attitude. but if our students are unwilling to put in the effort. the time. the practice. then the results will be sub par.

and just as a patient may blame their surgeon for results that are not as expected. our students blame us, the educator, when they fail to grasp a particular skill or lesson. and the administration follows suit. blaming the educator. blaming the method of instruction.

reality is. it is not the surgeons fault if a patient does not make a full recovery. but it is also not only the surgeon who deserves credit when recovery is excellent. both patient and surgeon must share in the joy of recovery. for the work… the effort… the patient has put in has made success possible.

in education. we must quit placing blame on educators when students do not reach the standard. but we must also share credit with our students who do put in the effort. the students who understand… this is their life. they have the ability to succeed (if they put their minds to it).

surgery and education. both processes of transformation. that require effort. by all parties involved. surgeon and patient. educator and student.

we must allow for transformation. must allow for success.

the cycle.

my absence has been well documented. (simply check the time stamp on my previous post). my apologies.

life tends to bend itself. (and my body). in ways unimagined. i shattered my right (and, yes, my dominant) wrist. which has required surgery, resulting in a metal plate and three screws. and an incredible amount of therapy.

therefore, i have found myself in a perpetual mode of relearning. every. single. simple. daily. skill. 

(not to mention playing catch up… at both work and home). and in relationships. friendships.

the cycle is exhausting.

and my confidence has shifted. (possibly in relation to this cycle). possibly in relation to the unknown. the reality that nothing is concrete. even my ability to open a bottle of diet coke.