Reflecting on balance and 2020

 So it is New Year’s Eve. I never in a million years could have fathomed the way this year would go when I chose my one word for 2020 or on New Year’s Eve a year ago. I never thought I would ever be confined to my house and learn to work at home, never mind enjoy it as immensely as I do. My home has become my safe haven, there was absolutely no traveling to new destinations this past year, and yet I end the year feeling very content and happy with my personal growth and perseverance in finding balance this year. 

Have I had points of struggle? Absolutely, who hasn’t? It was 2020 and an international pandemic turned our world upside down yet also managed to help to remind us of the importance of the simple things in life. There has been so much death and sickness that we have been forced to examine our inner selves and challenge our beliefs as we hold those that are near and dear to us close to our hearts and have not been able to see them other than on video calls or with a mask on. I miss hugs and I’m not a hugger. I love my family and my only wish for Christmas this year was to see my grandparents which I did with a mask on and kept my distance. Yes, it hurt in more ways than I could begin to share. I wasn’t able to see my nieces and nephews over the holidays other than on zoom and FaceTime but I know there will be plenty of other holidays in years to come where we can be together. I can’t wait until they are old enough so I can take them to explore the world, even though I know it will never be the same. It’s crazy to think my nieces and nephew will never experience the joy of a snow day cancellation! 

I still continue to hope that in our recovery planning we will find ways to truly explore the portrait of the graduate work and look past test scores and our hyper focus on “core” academics and outdated practices by redefining how we need to prepare future generations for the post pandemic world. Our students have learned more about resilience in this past year than we ever could have imagined and that will take them so much further than all the lessons they have had in their core academics in this traditional curriculum that we are still so afraid to get rid of for fear of offending someone. I truly believe our students should be an integral part of how we redefine education moving forward. 

Finding balance for everyone in this new normal will continue to need to be a focus, just as our work on SEL will need to be an integral part of our learning communities. Finding ways to stay healthy by finding balance will be an essential lesson and as educators we must model this for our constituents. I frequently talk about my commitment and the outlet I have found in my CrossFit family and I truly don’t know how I would have kept any balance or worked through the many struggles of 2020 without this community, even when the gym was closed. The Zoom classes gave me something to look forward to everyday and time away from work which became way too consuming with all the planning we had to do to redesign the education and open our school this fall. 

So my hopes for 2021 are to continue to maintain balance by further committing to CrossFit and adding some additional exercise regimen, learning French (I used quarantine to relearn Italian this year), eat healthy, train Wrigley (my new puppy that I got just a few days ago), focus on family, continue to support our learning community and explore the future of education in ways that are meaningful for all students, read at least 16 books off this years challenge list to broaden my horizons and to travel somewhere new if and when I feel it is safe. Tomorrow I will begin to find my one word for 2021 but my work on finding balance will be an ongoing journey. 

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