Educators- Are you Tired yet Wired? Wouldn’t you rather be Rested and Rejuvenated?

Twelve years ago, I would have described myself as “flattened” by life.

An educator by trade, I found myself an administrator in charge of organizational and professional development (code words for a bureaucrat disguised as a leader) in a large suburban school district. I had my own office with gorgeous cherry furniture, an administrative assistant, and get ready….a bathroom in my office. As a former teacher, when I got the bathroom I knew I had hit the mother load. If you’re a teacher, you get it.

Then my Dad died and like so many I realized life is short and I was wasting it. I decided rather than trying to get through the days, I would actually experience the days. So, I dove out the door of central office and entered the world of academia.  Essentially, I swapped one system for another, became a professor at the university, opened an LLC and eventually found freedom.

I now wear lots of hats-daughter-wife- mother-sister- former journalist-professor-author-speaker-coach-consultant-podcaster-mentor-trainer-workshop designer-retreat leader -hiker-baker-swimmer-yogi- seeker-wanderer.

I’m no longer flattened, actually I’m pretty well rounded, and the coach-teacher in me still wants to help others. I know this is sappy, but if when I leave this world, those behind can honestly say that their lives were a bit better because of my presence, I will have lived a life worth living.

In this weekly blog I’ll share practical self-care strategies and insights into how to live a life spent appreciating the present moment. You’ll get a glimpse of what my workshops and retreats feel like. Disclaimer: Not a darn thing will change by simply reading this blog, you have to take action (that’s the coach in me making sure you realize that real change takes real work).

A bit about me. I’ve been in education for over 30 years, and have been married just as long.

I have 2 adult children, one a teacher who is married,

the other an architect.

Cat: Elsa

I’ve got a blue/cream tortie rag doll cat named Elsa that I love and hate simultaneously. No, she wasn’t named after the Disney character, her name comes from the magnificent lion in the book/movie Born Free.

I write about what I’d like to read. Envisioning new ways of teaching, leading learning and living is on my mind most of the time. I think we’re letting our students down. We’re not guiding them to innovate and be the thought leaders this world needs. I think many of us are just going through the motions, getting through the day rather than living each moment of the day.

In 2018 I wrote a book, Practicing Presence: Simple Self-Care for Educators. https://www.stenhouse.com/content/practicing-presence

Thank goodness I chose the title, Practicing Presence, because trying to stay in the present moment is taking an incredible amount of practice. This blog will share the tips, tools, routines and rituals that I “try on” to live a meaningful life, one that is spent enjoying the present moment. It’s really all we have.

Disclaimer: This is my personal blog. The opinions and reflections I express do not necessarily represent those of my employer, West Chester University of Pennsylvania.