Making Time Stand Still

“It is not enough to be industrious; so are the ants. What are you industrious about?”—Henry David Thoreau

Recently I was looking at my calendar, trying to make several different events happen in a very short period of time. After wrestling with the complex schedules of a bunch of different people, it all worked out, but honestly, it was like herding cats on Red Bull. Why are we all so busy? It was like a giant cluster of Venn diagrams of overlapping commitments, sports games, jobs, and activities. 

Our family is not one that over-schedules. My children don’t do five varsity sports, four school clubs, three part-time jobs, two service projects, and a partridge in a…well you get the idea. The grown boys have jobs, as do my daughter and I, and she has high school and one sport per season. We are not celebrities or sought-after athletes, but wrangling everyone’s schedule sometimes makes it seem that way.

My general feeling has always been that much of what is going on when we say we are “so busy” is really not all that. If something life-altering were to come up in amongst the appointments, homework, games, and responsibilities, we’d make it happen. The events that don’t matter would fall away and what must be done, would get done. It always does, right? It’s just so frustrating in the middle of it when all you want is to know where you have to be and when you have to be there.

 As always, my inability to be organized, physically and mentally, is usually to blame, but I’m beginning to think it’s more than that. Yes, there are times when I cannot find my arse in the bathtub, much less fight my way out of a scheduling conflict, but one of these days, it’s just going to hit critical mass. The need to simplify will take over and the next thing you know I will head for a cabin in the woods with a book, a bag of Fritos and my Snoopy blanket, completely cutting myself off from technology, errands, and my Day Planner. Ok, wait a second; that isn’t ever going to happen. I’d be hightailing it home by supper, twitching from iPhone withdrawal and a near-fatal case of FOMO. Still, sometimes it’s tempting to just walk away from everything we “have” to do.

I’ve seen a quote, from Mother Theresa, about not using time as an excuse. We should not say “I don’t have time” because every person has the same amount of time. We all get 24 hours a day. We have to sleep, most of us have to work and care for our families, but along with all of that, how much time do we all waste each day? Whether it’s staring at our phones, surfing the Internet to find out if penguins have knees (they do, you just can’t see them under the feathers) or binge-watching the latest sci-fi series on Netflix, the time is there if we want to do the work to find it. It’s not easy, not even a little bit, and to those who always look like they have everything completely pulled together and never miss an appointment or muck up a deadline, you have my utmost respect and admiration. Maybe it’s a perception issue? Perhaps we are all struggling to tame our calendars, organize time with family and friends and slow things down a little? What if it’s just that some people make it look easier and we are all just madly scrambling around crossing off dates and loading up to-do lists?

I'm going to try not to concentrate on how each day begins or ends, regarding time and tasks.  I won't think about how many hours or minutes I have left to get everything done. It's like seeing a movie in a big screen theater versus a small television set. I don't want to miss any part of it; I want the full width of whatever I do. Constantly checking my calendar, my children’s schedules, work deadlines, and appointments takes away from the meaningful experiences I want to have. Running on time is for trains, planes, and marathoners. Being present in the moments that matter is more important.

Back to School Isn't Just About the Kids

“You learn something new every day if you pay attention.”

---Ray LeBlond

While one doesn’t have to be in school to learn, it is that time of year. Folders, binders and
supplies are flying off the shelves, the big yellow buses are rolling, and it’s what some parents
(and at least one store advertisement) have called “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”
I get that. Summer is great fun for the kids, but it can be a hassle for parents. The beach,
backyard BBQs, longer days, sea breezes and sand are a much-needed part of growing up. So is
an education and, when September comes, that’s where you’ll find more than a few grumpy
kids.

Parents can breathe a little easier when school starts, at least for the first week or so. They no
longer have to be the activities director. The house is quiet for a few hours and there isn’t a
constant stream of Fortnite players and floss dancers bouncing off the walls. While many might not admit it, the kids get over the moodiness of summer’s end pretty quickly. So, parents are happier now, the kids can start their fall sports and see their friends every day, what’s not to like?

Well, I think we are forgetting a few people in the back to school crunch. What about the
teachers? Summer time, at least part of it, is a huge break for them. Summer means that the
alarm clock isn’t bleating like a lost sheep at some un-Holy early hour. There’s no pile of papers
to grade every night. Lesson plans are not due, classrooms are locked and the fun beach books
are in the “to be read” pile instead of IEPs and curriculum changes. How hard it must be for
educators to put away the sunscreen and, once again, clean, unpack and decorate a classroom.

Think about the first day of school. You arrive at your child’s school, dragging a case of Kleenex
and a tub of wet wipes. The desks all have place cards on them, with the names of students.
There are theme boards with cutesy calendars, and color-coordinated task charts. Who did all
that and when did they have time? The teacher did it, and they make the time while most of us
still have our toes in the sand and a drink in hand. The whole “Teachers have it made, they
don’t work all summer” concept is a lie. Every single teacher I know spends a good part of the
summer on continuing education, cleaning classrooms, buying supplies with their own money
and planning the year to come. Also, not every teacher can take the summer off. Many have a
second job, because rent needs to be paid in the summer too.

No one likes the fun to come to an end, but teachers have to be ready, on the first day, to take
on the entire year. No kid shows up on the first day of school already knowing how they are
going to teach the unit on fractions, but the teacher does. That’s because they likely worked it out over their “vacation.” Teachers show up at the school room door already knowing the
names of more than 20 kids and the family and health information on a good many of them as
well. They didn’t wait until Labor Day weekend to think about how their classroom should look.
They were likely in that classroom during the dog days of August, setting up a reading corner
and moving furniture around. There is no “Laminating Fairy” that sneaks into the teacher’s
lounge and heat seals 50 sets of handwriting cards and multiplication tables. There are no
education elves that neatly sort crayons and markers into brightly colored bins. That is done by
the teachers while their students are still hitting the waves.

While it’s a lot of work and a job I could certainly never do, many of my friends who are teachers say back to school is a new beginning for them. New faces, new challenges and, at
least for the first few days, the fresh clean smell of Xerox paper and red rubber kick balls for recess. January is the start of a new year and when many of us make resolutions to get
organized, start over, do better at something. Personally, I find no renewed motivation for anything but Netflix and bacon during the frigid days of January. September and back to school is my jam. What a perfect time to turn over a new leaf, when they’re all gorgeously gold and red, showing their best sides. Teachers know this too, and they’ve come prepared to make it happen for our kids. So while you dance back to the car after drop off, take a minute to realize that this day didn’t just appear out of thin air. It happened because dedicated education professionals skipped a few beach days. To the teachers I know, welcome back, you were missed.