Happiness is a Truth!

My job makes me dizzy.

I encourage students consistently to avoid hyperbole in the form of "literally," and yet at the end of some days, I feel like I (literally) spent the day running in circles. Back and forth, as I pace while questioning and listening and redirecting. Up and down, as I hop onto my director's chair and hop back off to make a point at the board or bend over to point to a journal or in peals of laughter when that darn 4th block, B Day class cracks me up yet again. Here and there, as I start copies, run back to the 400 hallway to check on the darlings, tripping on the splayed legs and straining for the harp's peaceful notes to calm my nerves, and forget the copies I left on the machine three hours before until I don't have them when I go to pass out the handouts to the third section of the same prep I've taught that day.

Are you dizzy yet?

I spend my days with bright, motivated, and articulate young people. I teach alongside some of the finest teachers in the instructional game who work their asses off. They're some of my best friends on the planet and we genuinely love what we do. When we occasionally crash into one another (literally), we laugh for a moment about the pace or the panic or the profession and then we're off again, racing to meet the next deadline or drama or dinner date with another stack of practice papers. 

My head is spinning.

Sure, I see my friends. I spend time with my family. I take hot baths and drink a glass of wine and watch (don't judge) 3+ seasons of Scandal in a seriously short period of time. I go to yoga and occasionally even make dinner. However, when it matters most, I become this whirling dervish who barely takes a breath while she's click-clacking down the hall with a kid trailing me, asking about forensics or her Extended Essay or the latest edition of the newspaper. I'm planning and grading and meeting and questioning (always with the questioning) and yet, I completely miss the balance or the care required to be my best self, the happiest, healthiest version of myself especially in my work environment. And I'm often a dizzy, drowning mess (not literally). 

So, this November I challenged myself to a gratitude endeavor. Of course, always the educator, I dragged the entire freshman class along with me as well as the staff. The Freshman Focus, initiated by a colleague-friend and myself, intends to promote well-being and skill-building among the newbies in an effort to make their first year experience less daunting and more welcoming. In my time with them today (the fourth freshman-only Passport time this semester - eight of us each have a small group of 9th graders), we discussed the power of intentional activities, positive thinking, and commitment to dwelling on "the good stuff". We watched a portion Shawn Achor's TED talk entitled "The Happy Secret to Better Work" and each committed to one of the five behaviors research indicates will make us happier leading to well-being, gratefulness, and maybe even a more balanced approach. A bulletin board on the main hallway showcases these commitments to inspire the ripples to spread. 

Here's the thing: research shows that happiness, success, and productivity breaks down this way: 50% is completely biology, 10% is our circumstances, and 40% is intentional activities. I cannot change the fact that I seem to be naturally anxious, determined, perfection-seeking, and Type A++ (despite having THE most laid-back parents ever and as hard as I try to breathe deeply and laugh at all these things about myself). The world isn't going to change dramatically in terms of pace. We live a dizzyingly fast-moving existence which cannot be controlled so there's another uncontrollable 10%. I can, however, send an email, snail mail note, or shoot a text to someone highlighting what inspires me or challenges me in a positive way or demonstrates gratitude. It's a small moment in my hectic day and yet, I'm committed to its potential to create ripples of happiness in my world because (clap along if you feel) happiness is a truth!

If you want to create these ripples out of your life, here are tried & true suggestions from The Happiness Advantage (see above link) for increasing happiness. 

• Ten minutes of exercise reminds your body of all that good stuff which comes rushing in when your heart rate increases and the flow to the brain improves.
• A random act of kindness such as praising or thanking someone via note or email not only improves that person's day but also contributes to your well-being.
• Add three things to a gratitude journal each night concentrates your thoughts on those (rather than the one irksome item on which you focused.
• One quick journal entry about one positive experience before you go to sleep leaves you thinking about it lastly in your day.
• Five minutes of meditation removes you even for a short time from the ADD mentality of culture

Get happy (literally)!

Beautiful fall Pure Michigan days improve happiness 100%!
Research shows. 

"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows"

Perhaps you've heard: the weather of 2014 broke all kinds of records, caused severe damage, and wreaked havoc on Pure Michigan. From its beginning, the bitter cold shut down school (yay!) for days at the time and I snuggled into 2798 Phillips with my dear housemate, good books, my knitting, and the leftover wine from our bar christening (oh, yeah, I did just finish the basement -- more on that later). We're now into a new school year (my tenth!) and raindrops keep fallin' on my head.

House rules. 

 "Well, come out when the skating rink glistens"
When Detroit broke its 100 year record of 94.8 inches, it was April. No joke. Here's the article. As nice as the snow days were and as much as I like sweaters and hot chocolate as much as the next true Michigander, enough was enough. I was most definitely not the girl rooting for that extra half an inch so we could claim a record had been broken.

Bright spot amidst the cold - helping Daniel learn to ice skate!

My lady friends at Maggie's son's wedding

Beautiful day at New Smyrna

"Broken pipes, broken tools"

The really deep hole with two men in it

The trench in my front yard

To escape the frigidity, my Florida friends embraced me like a refugee in both January and February - thank you, friends! Shortly before I left, however, blank gunk seeped onto the floor from the floor drain in the laundry room. If this happens to you, call the plumber. Immediately. This might lead to the water being shut off for ten days carpet being cut to find drains and pipes, big trucks digging up the frozen ground in the front yard, and all the sewer lines being replaced. You still should call the plumber. Immediately. My retired dad oversaw the project while I basked in Florida's February rays. Thanks, Dad! I returned home and while the project was mostly completed, the water still had not been turned back on ... "to my parents' house, I go". My sewers, however, are really clean. 

"And yer sky cries water and yer drain pipe's a-pourin'"

The sewage-water at its highest

On the night of August 11th, I watched as Phillips Avenue filled with water. This is actually fairly normal and I didn't think much of it; what was not normal, however, and what I did not realize, was that the rising water came at such a speed that sump pumps and sewers were not able to keep up. My friend Brad called to ask if I'd come over to hang out with his boys while he attempted to siphon the water out of his basement. Before I attempted the trip, I happened to look into my newly finished, "solidly waterproofed" basement to see the water gathering on the floor. I now understand what it means to feel utterly helpless. The water rose so fast and with such momentum, at points I just stared as it got higher and higher. My mom risked driving in absurdly flooded roads to help me bail out the basement; ultimately, the water disappeared almost as quickly as it rose and within a short time, the carpet was soaked but not covered and all that remained was remnants of the sewage. (It looked remarkably like the black gunk previously seen in episode February so apparently the pipes were not quite as clean as I thought.) All over the area, people were forced to ditch cars on the interstate, salvage what they could from flooded basements, and at points, just sit helplessly. It was a wacky experience, and really made me empathize with those who have lost their homes to flooding. My parents helped as I salvaged most of my belongings and calmed me down in my more frantic moments. I know a guy who knows a guy and the basement was clean and dry before many people could even get on a waiting list for abatement! (Is it needless to say that I never made it over to the Davies' that night? Honestly, I'm not sure how I would've gotten there with sheets of rain pouring down and flooded streets.)

"Come in, she said, I'll give you shelter from the storm"
It stormed rather hard again last Friday night and shortly into the storm, the lights flickered a few times and we lost power. Deborah and I really couldn't do much but laugh. Let's be honest: it was really just a good opportunity to go to bed *extra* early on a Friday night. It was the hottest evening we've had all summer and to escape the dead air, I ended up sleeping on one-third of the sectional in the basement, which, if you recall, is gutted. Saturday morning, we typically chat with coffee in our jam-jams; this weekend's chat happened without coffee in the dark basement pre-cleaning out the fridge. Once again, I loaded the car, this time with my fridge's contents, and headed to my parents'. Just when they think they're rid of me ..... Thankfully, they are always up for a visit and providing shelter to their wayward daughter and the power resumed late last night in time for my fourth week of school to begin. On my way in this morning, NPR reported 98,000 Detroiters are still without power. Again, I lifted up a silent prayer that truly, my situation could pretty much always be worse.

"It's not dark yet"

Despite the major inconveniences of 2014 weather-related incidents, I am deeply fortunate. Fortunate to have made it through with my home intact, my body all in one piece, and my spirits high, thanks to my framily who keeps me laughing and never minds hearing my woeful tales. I know full well how good I have it. Simply put, 2014 has been a year of growth. From its beginning, my strength as a person grew through all the reminders that I am SO not the one in control. It would be great if life were easy and if everything went exactly the way I expected to or the way I really, really, really want it to. And yet, that's just not real life. It is a year of bright spots - good friends, family memories made and big moments celebrated (two retirements!), a Forensics season of which I am incredibly proud, my new car, Poppy!, the third CHWC in the D which was bigger and more impactful than ever, summer travels including my first UP trip, an impromptu Justin Timberlake concert which qualifies as one of the best nights of my life, planting in the Secret Garden and escapes into fiction (highlights: Wonder, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, I Kill the Mockingbird, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, and The One and Only Ivan).

CHWC dance party 2014

Reading on Belle Isle (Detroit skyline)

Nathan and Charlotte honoring
a tradition in the Boston Common

Celebrating Kate's birthday
in Nashville

JT

UP blueberry-picking with Sue

Arch Rock on Mackinc Island

Poppy faithfully carrying my new plants

"I got all the love, honey baby / You can stand"
As a kid, I read Highlights Magazine religiously and really love the Hidden Pictures page. So, how many hidden blessings can you find in this post? I count a whole bunch for 2014 and the list keeps rolling. Life remains .. full of grace.