Monday Motivators!

I may have lost an hour this weekend with daylight savings, but I gained a burst of positive energy. 

This weather is amAzing!

The air is warm, the sun is shining and everything just smells NEW...

The dirt, the flowers, the trees...all of it. Ahhhh....I just love this aspect of living in the tropics. 

This weather also makes it harder and harder to remain focused on work and the things that should take priority. 

                           

We educators are coming upon an extremely busy time of year. If you're in administration like my husband and I are, there are the added pressures of enrollment, staffing, and procedures for the upcoming school year.  We also both work on leadership teams of turnaround charter schools, which brings the added stress of overcoming the schools' past challenges. 

It is, without a doubt, rewarding work, but it's also a heavy load to bear.

Anywho...at the onset of this weekend, I started to get overwhelmed by it all... so I opened up our French doors to let in spring air, carrying the scents of moist soil & new magnolia blossoms, and decided to take it all in stride. 

The things I did this weekend reset my attitude in a way that I will carry with me in the coming week. As Meggie stated in a post earlier this week, it's all about perspective...and who has time to focus on the negative angle??

The following motivators are charging me up this Monday morning: 

I'm greedily enjoying 3 books right now (one of them is audio...come on, I don't have that much time). Reading--only 2nd to running--is the best way for me to relax and redirect stress.

                                           
By next weekend, I am hoping to start  this one. I've been waiting to read it for awhile now. I heard the author interviewed on Fresh Air on NPR back when I lived in Chicago.

                                

All weekend I thought about the 3 cumbersome reports I had to complete for my own PreK-2nd grade team; I brainstormed about the middle school team changes I'm trying to assit with in order to improve some of their systems.  I checked my calendar and was reminded that I have an after school event each night this week (some requiring more preparation)!

Needless to say, I had hours of work that needed completing. 

So yesterday I woke up early, 

I double-checked my to do list...

...and then got in my car and signed up for (and ran) a 5K. 

Why not?

There's nothing like avoidance &  procrastination when you're swamped with responsibilities! 

Newly discovered pictures of Meggie & I from when we were little.  

                
                                             I keep this one in my wallet. 

Oh, the point...always pointing her toes...our little gymnast. 

This Saturday marks the annual St. Patrick's Day parade right along our street! Each year, a parade featuring floats much like those seen at Mardi Gras roll down Magazine Street.  This is because we live in the neighborhood known as the Irish Channel. Festivities will start in our front yard. 

Last year's parade, just steps from our front door.

The crowded streets, post-parade. 

Our buddy is also coming in from Texas to celebrate March 17th.  

Seeing him is always a treat. 

Have an amazing week, everyone!