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What I've Learned This Week...

As a Mama, as a Teacher and as a Human

FRIENDS!

Am I ever happy to see YOU!

It's been a while! But I am eager to reconnect through my weekly emails here again. I have missed the reflection and the reconnection and the sharing so here I am ready to write again.

Thank you for the patience and the grace as I have navigated this heavy time, a book release (SQUEEEE! Teachers These Days is a bestseller because of all of YOU!) and this whole teaching during a mother trucking pandemic thing...

Let's do this!

Here is what I have learned this week...

As a Mama

Art by Mish Mash Art Studio

Whelp...

Covid has officially hit the McIntosh household....we think....

It's a long story but symptoms, tears, negative tests, fevers, blankets, heating pads and the kindest drop offs from my most favourite people on the planet were all in the cards this week and we are still riding the wave to see where we will all land as we head into the weekend.

What a craptastic time.

What I have learned this week? Opportunities for joy exist in each day.

Listen, this has not always been something I believe in. I would not call myself an optimist. And anxiety often can often hang over me and paralyze me with fear (especially when sickness is involved) but I was still able to find some joy this week. The opportunities were there although they looked a little different than one might think. I think my definition of joy has evolved over the years and this week I was able to search for it, find it and create it.

Joy was there when my aunt reminded me how far I have come in being able to assess and manage risk and when she was there to calm and offer guidance as we navigated it all.
Joy was there every time the doorbell rang knowing that I was loved by my community of bottom hands.
Joy was there as I worked on projects near and dear to my heart that are offering me hope.
Joy was there while we napped together on the couch.
Joy was there as we had sleepovers in Mommy's bed and early bedtimes.
Joy was there when the oldest one finally asked for a bowl of cereal.
Joy was there in the mundane while we healed together.

I am grateful for the joy. I want to do more of that,

As a Teacher

A reflection on my Mrs. Mac's Kinders Instagram page this week...

wea·ry

1 : exhausted in strength, endurance, vigor, or freshness
2 : having one's patience, tolerance, or pleasure exhausted

Weary.

That sums up what I am feeling right now. And when asked “how are you doing?” I answer “weary” because tired just doesn’t seem like a profound enough description at the moment. (Case in point? It took me 3 full days to find the words to type this out…)

Weary of waiting for change/waiting to be valued and to feel like I am being heard/this whole shit show of a virus to be over.

I am grateful for those that can acknowledge and honour this feeling. The ones that do not try to talk me out of it or dismiss it. The ones that give me space and time to process it without judgement. The ones that recognize that weariness does not mean giving up and can see that although one is weary they can still have a smile on their face and find joy in a moment. The ones that understand that teachers are human and that I can still be fantastic at my job despite feeling this way. The ones that don’t use cliches to try to convince me I am wrong or tell me “you’ve got this” dozens of times a day.

Make no doubt about it. I know I’ve got this.

But that’s the thing about weariness.

Weariness is “exhausted in strength…”

Every. single. thing. I. do. and every single decision I make as a mom, teacher, friend and human right now takes more time, more energy, more thought because I don’t have the strength.

Combine that with the utter lack of patience and tolerance I have for those in charge on a provincial level right now making decisions that will affect me, my family and our learners for years to come?

No wonder weariness has set in.

What I have RE-learned this week? Amidst the weariness, it is essential that I check in with myself each day (and if I have it in me, those I trust around me) to ensure I am aware of warning signs for slipping and regressing into patterns of my previous mental health struggles.

I am proud of myself for seeing the warning signs. Apathy and panic are two of mine. A focus on mortality is another. And they are all present right now.

It has allowed me to acknowledge that I need more rest, more creation vs. consumption and more space to take care of myself. I know these feelings are temporary and boundaries are a must.

So, when you see me this week and say “how are you?” and I say “weary”, please don’t be scared. Just acknowledge. Hold hope for me. Trust me. And know that I’m doing the same for you no matter what feeling you use to describe yourself this week. ❤️

Feeling the weariness too friends?
Join Dr. Jody and I TOMORROW, JANUARY 28TH at 7:15am on her Facebook and Instagram pages for a live where we hold space for allll the emotions and let you in on a few little secrets about the Teachers These Days community that we hope will help you through.

As a Human

Lisa Olivera's Instagram page has provided me with so many nuggets of knowledge and self healing this past year. She is an incredible writer and creator who moves me with seemingly knowing exactly what I need to hear when I need to hear it. Her new book "Already Enough: A Path to Self-Acceptance" arrived this week (affiliate link) and its timing could not have been better.

What I have learned this week? Healing and self-acceptance "means allowing ourselves to carry our story without being carried by it".

This beautiful quote from the first pages of Lisa's book remind me that we all have a story. It reminds me that we can hold stories in our hearts, even ones that hurt, but that they don't have to carry us.

Here is to all of us being able to carry our story and not let it carry us.

EXCITING NEWS!

This is such an exciting time for me and for my creative journey! Coming soon to my website? A "FREE TEACHER RESOURCE" tab that will allow you to download all of my most requested templates! I am looking forward to also including one a week in this email! STAY TUNED and be sure to tell your teacher friends!

What I'm Reading
Fire Keeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Thank you SO much for being here! I am so happy to be back in this space and I am looking forward to reconnecting here once again. I have missed you!

I am grateful to be on this learning journey every day with all of you...

Love, Kindness and Happy Learning to You!

Laurie

Paperback AND hardcover copies available here!
Watch for information about the Audible release coming soon