I got home this afternoon from my visit to Colorado. I had an incredible time...and really had a hard time making myself come home. Preggo and I had a great visit...spent a lot of time just talking and catching up on each other's lives. I am incredibly blessed to have her as a friend...she is a great listener and encourager -- AND she totally welcomed me into her house and her family. She trusted me alone with BabyGrape...and didn't come running when he started screaming bloodymurder (he had tried to stage a battle between gravity and the floor and his chin...and his chin lost in a loud THUNK!). She trusted that I could handle it, which is so humbling when we're talking about entrusting your INFANT to someone who spends 99.99% of her life around the large children who can walk and talk and drive!!
I am so glad I went to see them. I was able to get away from my to-do lists here, and gain some perspective on a lot of things. I was able to relate a lot of Preggo's parenting skills with BabyGrape to my classroom management skills -- and how I relate to Buggy. (You can't insulate them to totally protect them from making bad choices and hurting themselves...but you can be there to help 'em get through it, and learn from it.)
I was also able to get some distance (both physical and mental) from some interpersonal issues I've been dealing with. I've realized that yes, I value my relationships...but I deserve to be valued, as well. If that reciprocity isn't occuring, maybe it's time for me to move on, and use that time to nurture fledgling friendships that have a chance of feeding my soul. Sometimes letting go is the key to growing in a new direction.
I also realized just how important it is that I align my values and priorities with how I spend my time. In other words, if I tell myself that something is important to me...I need to make sure that how I spend my minutes accurately reflects that. At the end of the day, I need to know in my heart of hearts that I am at peace with how I spent my time.
That also trickles down to figuring out how to choose my battles. If I'm going to spend time embroiled in negativity and stress and tension...then I need to feel that it's a means to a more positive end. If it is going to do nothing more than be an energy drain...then I need to say/do what I feel I need to say/do, seek out my closure, and chalk it up to a learning experience. And then let go.
I feel that this week has set me up for a great start to this school year. I think I'm going to have a better frame of mind going into the semester, and will be able to be eversomuchmore relaxed, yet productive and successful as a result.
It's going to be a great year!
hasta...