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| Photo © thecrazysquirrel Creative Commons License |
Seventeen years ago I moved from Texas to Tennessee. I love living in Tennessee. One of my favorite things is having four distinct seasons. (I actually get to see trees change colors around October.) I love my Texas roots but I do love my Tennessee home.
However, there's one thing that Tennessee doesn't have that I truly miss. (Well, there are others but we'll go with this one for now.) Bluebonnets.
Each spring, I would see bluebonnets line the highways and country roads in Texas. We don't have those in Tennessee. We do have wildflowers that I enjoy seeing. But no bluebonnets.
I didn't really appreciate those bluebonnets until I didn't see them anymore. When I missed them, I realized how much I liked them.
And that has me thinking right now.
I wonder what I see and experience now that is valuable and I'm missing the value. After all, sometimes you don't realize how valuable something is until it isn't. Just like my bluebonnets.
What's going on in my classroom that I will miss next year?
What valuable things are happening that I don't notice?
What important milestones (students' or mine) are passing right before my eyes?
Will I look back on this year with fondness? regret?
Am I missing opportunities that will never pass again? Opportunities for impacting children's lives? Opportunities to enjoy the little things?
Do I get so caught up in the macro-view that I miss the micro-miracles?
I don't have answers to these questions. In fact, I won't have answers until next year. That's the trick with these "little things." You don't miss them until you miss them. (Profound, huh?)
This week has been Spring Break for me. I have missed seeing those second grade faces each day. I miss having odd things clutter my pockets. I miss hearing the latest WWE updates. I miss hearing them "make numbers." And read to me. And get excited about things that seem small (but aren't).
When I go back next week, I'm going to try to value each experience, large and small. In nine weeks (yikes!) these students will not be my class anymore.
I have a lot of valuing to do then. But now, I'm going to look at bluebonnet pictures on Flickr.
