Just a couple, few weeks of school is down! How many to go? Not sure I want to do that math… not yet, anyway.
That exciting first week back to school where I’m feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (at least for the first day-and-a-half, LOL) has passed. Where the clothes, lunch boxes, and folders are new and everyone is nervously excited to meet their new teacher and classmates. Yeah — that’s past us now. Here’s where the rubber really meets the road. It’s the day in, day out; the week in, week out that really counts now.
I figure I’ve got two choices at this juncture. Either I start a countdown for winter break (which I already said I wasn’t ready to do!), or, I reframe my thinking and start looking at each day and each week as a new, fresh opportunity to help set my kids up for success. And, even more importantly, continue to pour into myself to keep me feeling well, whole, and remain on my own self-discovery path. That likely sounds backward to some reading this, but it really is the truth! There’s a reason why flight attendants instruct you to put your own oxygen mask on before assisting others. If you’re completely deprived of oxygen/energy/spark, you aren’t going to be helpful to anyone — including yourself.
Okay so I’ve made and underlined my point. It’s back to what I’m actually going to do now that we’re heading into the fourth week of school. For starters, I will continue my (almost) daily meditation sessions. If I’m unable to fit that in right after school drop-off due to work, an appointment, or unforeseen circumstance, I intend to schedule it and then stick to it. (In a previous post, I cover the importance and value of keeping promises to yourself.)
In addition to daily meditation, I am, of course, going to do my best to do all the other things… Drink lots of water, eat fresh produce, and exercise. But that’s nothing new or earth-shattering, right? What I’m also going to start doing is come up with a weekly focus theme. This will help keep me on my own path to joy.
I’ve literally added a focus area for each week on the calendar between now and the end of the year. The focus areas I selected play on the senses — enjoying the beauty of something, feeling the feel of something, smelling the scent of something. In all the chaos and daily to-dos, I think it will be helpful to have something to help ground me. You know, like practicing mindfulness! 😉
Cherish yourself: Find something to focus on each week to help keep you grounded as you go about the day-in, day-out routines of the school year.