Response to Tragedy
I have struggled with words and processing the events of yesterday until this morning. I am blessed to be part of a Wellness Committee at my district and honored to have the platform to share a Wellness Wednesday email each week. I wanted to share here what I shared with my colleagues because I truly believe this is important.
Today’s Wellness Wednesday is going to be different for a myriad of reasons.
I typically write these on Tuesdays and schedule send for Wednesday morning. I am both regretting and thankful that I was not able to get to this final email yesterday.
If I had written this email yesterday, I have a feeling it would have been filled with sunshine and rainbows (and for those of you that know me well, know I would add… Don’t forget those unicorns!). However, this morning that would have felt so very wrong and so very hollow.
This morning I am raw.
This morning I am sad and I am angry. To be completely honest, this morning I feel a bit hopeless.
I admittedly have a bit of a savior complex. I feel safe sharing that because I know I am not alone in that. I know I am not the only one that sees each and every child and their pain and wants to do anything possible to help take it away. To shield them. To protect them. That hears about their trauma or their difficult home life and just wants to do everything possible to heal them.
This year has been filled with a lot of trauma and a lot of pain both for our students and us as educators.
The end of this year is bittersweet. I am so very grateful for summer. As I have explained to people, I feel like I am crawling to the finish line, knuckles bloody from scraping on the gravel. I need this break. I know YOU need this break as well. AND…I am sad. There is still so much I want and feel like I need to do with teams and students I am working with. There are amazing teachers that are retiring or leaving for other adventures. I am going to miss you all.
So, in this rather somber, final Wellness Wednesday, my plea to you is this: Be well. Be present. We cannot afford not to take care of ourselves. We need to do the work to be better in all areas of wellness. Stress is crippling if we don’t address it and it can come from anywhere. Get outside. Go for a walk. Take deep breaths. Meditate. Journal. Do some yoga. Set up a budget. Eat whole foods. Set loving boundaries. Turn off electronics. Limit news intake. Talk to a trusted friend. Do something creative. Listen to some music. Practice gratitude. Learn something new. Immerse yourself in the things you love. Do what you need to do to BE WELL.
I am so thankful to team with a passionate group of people on the Wellness Committee. We are committed to improving the overall wellness of ourselves, our students, and our community. It is an undertaking, but we are committed to the journey.
Thank you for the opportunity to share my passion with each and every one of you. I hope you have a wonderful, restorative summer, but more than anything I hope you do something small each and every day to take care of yourself.
Take Care. Be Well.
