Taking Care of #1

So for over two months I have been fighting feelings. Those who know me would tell you that I am a sincere person who is passionate about taking care of people and caring about others. I have even been known to speak out and get myself in trouble by making certain things are fair and trying to have the world function with truth and not politics, and people being honest and not playing games.
I have been worrying about my staff and feeling very disconnected from them because we are going twice the speed of light and never see each other, let alone collect any synergy from each other. I worry about the budget, cuts and contracts, and making certain staff has adequate time to prepare and do the job they are capable of doing for our schools.
Meantime, I haven't taken time to exercise! Now those of you who started this blog with me know that I have been a proponent of exercise since before the band. I know it is the only way that I can maintain good health, alleviate stress, and even hope to lose those extra pounds of fat. I was so committed to taking care of myself and making certain I exercised regularly. Well, that has gone out the window. It was pointed out to me today that has been my choice. I have chosen to allow other things to take the time away from taking time to exercise each day. Guess what? That is the truth!
With the risk of being philosophical, I have spent my entire life putting others before me. I admitted today that my personal opinion of myself has always been based on what others think. I have been a people pleaser for 62 years. I tried to be a perfect daughter and never disappoint my parents. I don't believe I ever measured up to my first husband's expectations (weight, intelligence, or motherhood). I attained my Doctorate because I believed it might give me a "leg up" on the world of a male dominated profession (school administration). I am writing this not to collect sympathy or kind words, but because I need to admit this to myself. I think if the truth was spoken, I have had the goal of losing weight because our society values skinny people more than obese. Yet, I have written that I am trying to change my weight so that I will be more healthy.
All in all, I am not healthy in the head. I KNOW I need to put myself first and take care of myself if I hope to be able to do unto others. I know that, but I don't walk the talk. So tonight I went to the Rec and walked for 30 minutes. I walked 1.6 miles. I plan to go to bed as soon as I finish writing this post. I have been eating better than ever before in my life but I have started to add those sweet morsels too often. I need to adhere to what I know is necessary and lay off thinking about what tastes good.
I sleep but I don't think I am resting. I need to learn to say "no" when the reality is that I can't add another thing to my schedule. I encourage my staff to do that so I guess I better start modeling what I want for them. As of today, I am really going to try to start a new chapter of taking care of me. Stay tuned for what's next.

Wonderful Week

Vince and I just returned home from a wonderful week away. It was a much needed rest for me and it seems like we don't get to spend as much together as I would like. We saw beautiful fall colors on the gorgeous mountains in West Virginia and Virginia. We spent some great time in the warm sunshine in Williamsburg. This is a place that both of us love but we had never been there together. We walked the streets together and at times, I just sat in the sun and watched the people. The weather was beautiful. I especially loved our drive to the Atlantic and was absolutely awestruck by the tunnels and bridges linking us to the Delmarva Peninsula. Those of you who know me know how much I love the water.

I will add some pictures for you.

Once Upon a Time. . .

It has been a very busy fall with school starting and our contracts with schools demanding hours of planning, driving to schools, and working with a lot of educators. I like the work but some things have suffered. Number one has been my exercise program! I have to start putting my health first and getting the exercise to help with the stress. There, I said it, now I need to put my tush in motion.
This past weekend I drove to Rapid City to attend the wedding of a very special young man. Eleven years ago I met Luke as an incoming Freshman at DWU. He wanted to be a teacher and came to DWU because he was recruited by the baseball coach. This was the beginning of a wonderful time in my life! I watched baseball games in the fall when it was starting to get cold, rained, and even snowed. I watched baseball games in the spring when it was still cold, snowed and rained, and the wind was blowing. I was privileged to travel with the team to the Metrodome and sit in the Twins dugout with the team. I traveled to Florida with these fine young men. I have watched them laugh with each other, learned about their superstitions, watched them win and watched them lose (both games and special friends), and shared tears with them more than once.
So, this weekend was special because some of these young men were able to come together to celebrate. Their coach, Adam, is the short guy in the back row. He is the reason these guys know each other. He is the one who recruited these fine young men. So once upon a time there was a team and today these young men are dear friends and they still make me laugh and cry and I am blessed to know each of them.