Unprecedented times. I’m usually a pretty positive person. I try to find the good if I can. I look for reasons to smile. But in our COVID-19 reality, some days are harder than others. Some days I just want to cry, and some days I do. Yesterday was a day of big emotions for me. The reason doesn’t necessarily matter, and it’s not one to discuss here. As I spent a little time conversing with a friend last night, she made me consider the Self-Reg “why and why now?” that I hadn’t really thought about before.
Usually, when it comes to change — especially in an educational context — I’m all for it! These changes might be uncomfortable. They might scare me. I might still need to be talked through the process, but I will embrace it. It was 10 years ago that the idea of change had me blogging and tweeting for the first time with my Grade 1 students. I didn’t think that this was possible before then, but I embraced some new possibilities thanks to the support of educators like Zoe Branigan-Pipe, Jared Bennett, and Aaron Puley. I’ve moved schools three times and grades four times since we started connecting, but years later, these three educators still support, challenge, and extend my thinking in ed-tech and beyond.
Why then is “change” — even changes that might have been considered smaller ones in the past — so much more overwhelming for me right now? I wonder if our current reality has something to do with it. In the midst of a pandemic and with physical distancing rules in place, there’s a lot that we can’t control. Maybe I’m trying to hold onto the few small things that I can, as in their own little way, they almost make things seem that much more normal. In the coming days, weeks, and months, I might need to embrace additional changes: both inside and outside of education. For any changes that don’t just impact me, but also our kids, it’s our positive attitude that might help reduce stress for the entire family.
As for my hard day yesterday, I tried to work through the stress.
- I connected online with good friends.
- I read a book … even if I couldn’t quite focus on it.
- I pedalled a little bit harder on the bike — pedalling out some frustration perhaps.
- And I went to bed early and slept well.
Today’s a new day. I’m hoping for a better one. But I know, watching the daily conversations on edu-Twitter, good days seem to come and go, just as the bad ones do. How do you make it through the harder days? Maybe we all need to hear that making things work isn’t easy. And sometimes our “best” needs to be “good enough,” at least until we can get back at it again. So thanks to those supporters who helped me out yesterday: your kind words and listening ears meant a lot! I hope to return the favour, as right now, there’s something to be said for making it through this TOGETHER.
Aviva