What Went Right
To be honest with you, the pandemic and subsequent lock down brought me to my knees on many days over the last few months and I am still feeling the impact. Everything was disordered, being reordered, and was nowhere near the order that I needed to see and feel.
I think educator moms had it worse than many other professions. The barriers and issues were right in front of us and there was nothing we could do differently, either as an educator or as a mom. The frustration was squared… I would see it as an educator and then I would feel it as a mom. Humbling is the only way I know to describe it.
As the world wakes up, it is easy to relive those awful moments. Our brains are actually hard wired to notice and react to negative stimuli as a form of basic survival. In fact, the fight/flight/freeze response is an automatic physiological response to an event that is perceived as stressful or frightening. Noticing and responding to a negative stimulus is really handy if, for example, a giant cheetah is getting ready to eat you.
But a giant cheetah is not getting ready to eat me.
Some days I have to remind myself of that. I might even put it on a sticky note.
One way to remember that a giant cheetah is not hovering to pounce on me is to look for what went right instead of what went wrong. This tricks your brain into focusing on something besides all the negative stimuli.
I have seen first hand students learn the power of the written word in emails and chats. We noticed teachers keeping a sense of humor as they adapted their instruction. We saw schools become a much-needed community anchor as storms raged all around us.
My own children have new skills that involve being login savvy, understanding the power and importance of passwords, and how to solve tech problems quickly and efficiently. Because technology should be a tool, right? I think they learned this loud and clear.
They also understand how important it is to take breaks, go outside, move their bodies, and play. They value their friendships in an entirely new way and realize that our lives have many seasons.
These moments may be small and they could easily get lost in the awful moment memories, but I am choosing to look the other way. I am working on thinking about all the things that went right over the last few months. These are the things I want to hang onto and carry with me moving forward as part of my arsenal against the giant cheetahs.
What you feed is what will grow. Make sure you are feeding the positive.
For Reflection:
- Are you actively seeking out positive people, ideas, and memories?
- How can you increase your small moments of positivity?