work

Post-Mortem (Or, Reflecting On the Year)

A Piece of the Berlin Wall in DC
I’ve held several jobs: website producer, executive secretary, digital media salesperson, radio sales coordinator, and teacher.
I’ve been teaching for over ten years and I’m still learning!

My daughters, ages 13 and 14, attend the school where I teach.

They are teenagers, so I take a lot of what they say with a grain of salt. However, when they talk about their teachers, I really listen. Here is what I have learned:

  1. Be strict, but also be fun and approachable.
  2. If a girl is a few minutes late to class, assume she just got her period unexpectedly and give her respect by not belittling her in front of the class.
  3. Teach well – in class. Limit homework. Middle school kids have at least 9 teachers who also assign homework.
  4. Give points and kudos for effort.
  5. Routines are excellent, but change things up a bit once in awhile.
  6. Extracurriculars and school-wide events are worth attending! Don’t make your students miss them.
  7. Control your class!

I think the rules can apply to any job: know your “stuff,” be flexible, respect everyone. Be professional, fun and approachable.

Investments

“An act of devoting time, effort, or energy to a particular undertaking with the expectation of a worthwhile result.” Dictionary.com

 

We don’t hesitate to put a portion of our income into investment vehicles because we have faith that making the sacrifice will pay off in the future.

We don’t hesitate to enroll our children in music or sports because we know that the payoff will be great.

We don’t hesitate to support our spouses by cooking healthy meals, lending an ear and giving words of encouragement.

But…

When it comes to paying tuition, taking the courses for a degree or going for that dream job, mothers tend to look at the cost to the family and consider it too “expensive.” They say, “Not now, it’s not the right time.”  Moms often don’t look at it as investment for the self.

I was talking to a good friend of mine who told me about her “dream job.” This job is just one rung away. She’s hard-working, super smart and talented. She just needs to take a test and pass it. Taking the test costs a fee. “Well, I think I should wait until the job becomes vacant. Then I’ll take the test. I don’t know that it’s a wise use of money right now.”

What?

Have you ever heard a man say that?

Invest in yourself. It’s not selfish. It’s your obligation.

 

I read an article and got inspired.

1948180_10152141761378025_1457480227_nIra Glass says the key to success is plain old hard work. Keep working, don’t think too much about it. FINISH!  And I’ve always wanted to be able to draw or paint and I know I’m not good at it – YET. So I sat down despite all the “work” I have to do (lesson plans, consulting work, a short story I want to finish) and I made art. It barely looks like opal. When I showed it to Josie, she said, “Um, I like the colors.” Ava hugged me because the criticism stung so badly.

But I shall persevere.

Something Like That

funnyBeen in need of levity and I got it. Purchased nice gifts for JiMin’s farewell party and had an impulse buy of red, wax lips. These are awesome! JiMin took great pictures of herself and the girls. They laughed hysterically before the camera. We shall miss JiMin much. She’s been great with the girls, even if she can’t clean to save her life, much less cook!

I’m busy, busy, busy with several projects. I’m preparing for the educational aspect of my career the balance of May and all of June. I’m excited about teaching creative writing and even math (in a non-conventional way) to the little ones. July will be all about the writing. I love my story and am getting great ideas every day. JiMin has played a large role in that. All sorts of issues come out when you share living quarters with a foreign exchange student!

funny_004


How do you like this face? She’s been doing it all day. Very Margaret Cho!

The important thing is that you live each day as if it could be your last. Josie and Ava are hilarious. Truly.  I love having summers to spend with them and watch them grow and become big people. There was a program on TV about adoption. I asked Ava, “do you know what adoption is?” She replied confidently, “yes, it’s when you give your child away to some people who don’t know how to have babies…or….they look in the tummy to see if it’s there and it’s not, there’s no baby. Or something like that.”  Something like that indeed!  She started so self-assuredly and knew by the end that  maybe it wasn’t all correct. But shrugged her shoulders as if to say, “I’m smart and I know I have the gist of it.” Children have such a simplistic way of looking at things. I love it. As adults, we tend to look at things so seriously, with such finality and solemn sobriety. Puh-lease! And I say this mostly from personal experience…we’re too damn serious! Just play and work and hopefully, your work IS play. We’re paying people to work on our yard. We’ve never paid anyone to do anything in our yard or in our home and you know what? It’s nice.  It’s OK to not do everything yourself.  I’m finally learning that at 40.

I have many things on my “to do” list and they are all important. Yet, they are all unimportant too. Something like that.