To Walk On A Road Not Yet Traveled

I’ve had a zinger of a day so I thought I’d start this post with a zinger of a title.  I like some literary classics and so I tried to incorporate one of my personal favorites from Robert Frost into this post.  Credits to the author:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

 

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

We woke up this morning as a family to an old dog who was ready for us to have the courage to choose the road less traveled – I’ve blogged about Lucy before and today we went on our final road trip.

The whole experience made me think about servant leadership but not in the typical, recycled, self-promoting way.  People will generally say what they will but I think most folks know I will say what I mean.  Our chocolate lab spanned more than a decade with us and when I looked at stored pictures on my phone, she was in at least half of them easily.  She’s traveled to at least 10 different states with us and now has an Airbnb featuring her in their advertisement.  She was the consummate servant leader – she made us engage even when we didn’t want to because it was too early, or too late, or too cold, or too hot, or too rainy, or (did I mention hot) etc.

And to pivot from one of my personal favorite poems, school folks are about to journey in a way never before.  It’s clear teachers miss kids and kids miss teachers, and much of the consensus is the two are best together.  And then the disclaimer follows – provided it’s safe for all.

I’m not a doctor so I am not going to pretend to present as such.  For me personally I believe in science and I believe our top doctor has our best interests in mind when advising.  We’ve got a rocky road ahead but I believe our local school administration will do more for its teachers and staff than any other when it comes to safety.  That’s no guarantee which leads us on this road not yet traveled.  I hope all educators stay well and stay sharp and stay the course while supported by necessary safeguards.  I hope all educators can take a snippet from my Lucy story and make it their novel that all kids get to edit.