Monday Eve - and Lessons from a Kayak

Summer is ending... or more to the point, summer HAS ended for Ed and I. Classes begin this week at our school and last week faculty obligations and meetings kicked into high gear. We are back to a schedule and routine of a teacher. So last night we took a little time and tossed our kayaks onto the roof rack and headed for Creve Coeur Lake for some paddle time.

I can't begin to tell you exactly how paddling a kayak about a small lake will relax you and help you sort things out. Out on the water there is almost always a breeze. We went out at about 5 and the animals along the shores were feeding and drinking. In one cove we counted over 7 egrets and saw a doe and her fawn come down to wade and drink in the shallows. It was so quiet and peaceful. I almost physically felt my anxious thoughts for the week ahead fly off on the breeze. The effort of paddling and moving forward on the water got me thinking of how I move through a school year.


This morning I am at my desk at school trying to wrap up the final tasks leading up to the arrival of new students tomorrow. I will be seeing about 70 per day this term and I am excited to see what the new year holds. What new challenges will they bring to me? What new ideas that I have been concocting will work the best? Will they enjoy the lessons I am planning to launch? Will they get what they need for moving forward in years to come? Lots of things to wonder about.

Teachers get a "new year" twice a year. The one that comes in August/September is just as packed with anticipation and resolutions as the one that comes in January. Happy New Year folks - Keep paddling forward!