Heat
I do not enjoy being hot, in fact I hate it. I work in a school with no air conditioning in the Midwest. It NEVER fails, starting school will most certainly equal 100 degree days. It does not matter if we have had an unusually cool summer with no day above 80 degrees, once school hits, it's an automatic heat wave.
This year was no different when it came to the weather. However, our school got new windows and that made a huge difference. The windows are awesome, well designed, heavy, sturdy, super great for keeping in heat in the winter. That's the problem. These new windows are so greatly insulated that NONE of the heat could escape our building in the evenings. Usually we get some reprieve in the mornings because of the past evening's cool air. Not this year. As you can imagine, the heat was killer. We are in the middle of September now, and it's finally bearable, but guess what, by afternoon it is still hot!
Perhaps all of the stifling heat adds to my love for fall. I'm not a pumpkin spice crazy kind of girl, in fact, pumpkin spice kind of makes me wanna puke.... Fall, now that is something I can get behind. Our school building cools down, our students are in a routine, the beginning of the year issues have been worked out, and I can rest more peacefully because I am finally DONE sweating.
Fall is also HOT TUB season! For as much as I don't like to be hot during my school day, spending a cool crisp evening in the hot tub is my JAM! There is nothing like immersing yourself in the warm water and bubbling jets of a hot tub on a great fall evening. Turning on the lights and looking up at the stars makes you feel as if you have been transported to paradise right on the back patio.
Heat can be both positive and negative. When it's 100 degrees in my classroom with no room to breathe it's awful, but when the heat is 103 degree water in my hot tub on a chilly fall night, it's beautiful. I often find that many things in life mirror this kind of positive and negative relationship. Being involved with good things often brings joy and fulfillment, but, being over committed brings exhaustion and resentment. Exercising is good for your heart, mind, body, and soul, but working out too much can cause serious damage. Spending time with a loved one often brings peace, love, and joy, but allowing those you love to take over your life causes many family issues. It's about balance.
Finding balance in life is not easy. I see memes all of the time on Facebook that talk about trying to do everything that is good for us and failing miserably. Yet the alternative to trying is a life of poor health, unsatisfying relationships, and discontentment. Balance also looks different for each person. My husband can often be gone all day and feel completely calm and balanced, while I need some quiet time at my house where no one needs me in order to feel calm. It's about finding what works for you. Finding balance can also change as your situation changes. What I need in the summer is much more minimal and less than what I need during the school year. Finding the simple things throughout the day that give peace also makes a huge difference. Oils diffusing in my classroom, a great cup of coffee, a fun conversation, all of those things bring small moments of calm and happiness that help me breathe deeply and show love to the world.
I'm over trying to please everyone and do everything. I say NO to a lot of GOOD things. I set boundaries on my time and efforts. I leave school close to contract time because it makes me a happier person which benefits my students more than staying and slaving away does. There will always be more to do, BUT working myself to death does not benefit my students. Being organized, being happy, having energy and love to pour in to my students, that makes a difference, far more than having every single piece of paperwork filed does. Balance.
Saying no to things does not mean I feel that those things are not worthy, but instead says that my sanity, peace, calmness, and self are worth more. It's a hard lesson to learn, one that I often need to reteach to myself, but the balance is so important. Because when there is balance, where there is calm, the heat of life can only do so much damage before your soul turns on its air conditioner by saying, I am protected, I am loved, I will not let you overtake me.
This year was no different when it came to the weather. However, our school got new windows and that made a huge difference. The windows are awesome, well designed, heavy, sturdy, super great for keeping in heat in the winter. That's the problem. These new windows are so greatly insulated that NONE of the heat could escape our building in the evenings. Usually we get some reprieve in the mornings because of the past evening's cool air. Not this year. As you can imagine, the heat was killer. We are in the middle of September now, and it's finally bearable, but guess what, by afternoon it is still hot!
Perhaps all of the stifling heat adds to my love for fall. I'm not a pumpkin spice crazy kind of girl, in fact, pumpkin spice kind of makes me wanna puke.... Fall, now that is something I can get behind. Our school building cools down, our students are in a routine, the beginning of the year issues have been worked out, and I can rest more peacefully because I am finally DONE sweating.
Fall is also HOT TUB season! For as much as I don't like to be hot during my school day, spending a cool crisp evening in the hot tub is my JAM! There is nothing like immersing yourself in the warm water and bubbling jets of a hot tub on a great fall evening. Turning on the lights and looking up at the stars makes you feel as if you have been transported to paradise right on the back patio.
Heat can be both positive and negative. When it's 100 degrees in my classroom with no room to breathe it's awful, but when the heat is 103 degree water in my hot tub on a chilly fall night, it's beautiful. I often find that many things in life mirror this kind of positive and negative relationship. Being involved with good things often brings joy and fulfillment, but, being over committed brings exhaustion and resentment. Exercising is good for your heart, mind, body, and soul, but working out too much can cause serious damage. Spending time with a loved one often brings peace, love, and joy, but allowing those you love to take over your life causes many family issues. It's about balance.
Finding balance in life is not easy. I see memes all of the time on Facebook that talk about trying to do everything that is good for us and failing miserably. Yet the alternative to trying is a life of poor health, unsatisfying relationships, and discontentment. Balance also looks different for each person. My husband can often be gone all day and feel completely calm and balanced, while I need some quiet time at my house where no one needs me in order to feel calm. It's about finding what works for you. Finding balance can also change as your situation changes. What I need in the summer is much more minimal and less than what I need during the school year. Finding the simple things throughout the day that give peace also makes a huge difference. Oils diffusing in my classroom, a great cup of coffee, a fun conversation, all of those things bring small moments of calm and happiness that help me breathe deeply and show love to the world.
I'm over trying to please everyone and do everything. I say NO to a lot of GOOD things. I set boundaries on my time and efforts. I leave school close to contract time because it makes me a happier person which benefits my students more than staying and slaving away does. There will always be more to do, BUT working myself to death does not benefit my students. Being organized, being happy, having energy and love to pour in to my students, that makes a difference, far more than having every single piece of paperwork filed does. Balance.
Saying no to things does not mean I feel that those things are not worthy, but instead says that my sanity, peace, calmness, and self are worth more. It's a hard lesson to learn, one that I often need to reteach to myself, but the balance is so important. Because when there is balance, where there is calm, the heat of life can only do so much damage before your soul turns on its air conditioner by saying, I am protected, I am loved, I will not let you overtake me.
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