The Closer We Are, The Harder the Challenge

As the holiday season approaches, I once again find myself drifting often and thinking longer.  Admittedly, I’ve become a bit of a Grinch around Christmas time so my resolution this season will be focusing more on what was had rather than what was lost.

A few weeks back I woke up early and finally witnessed the tall tale my wife had been spewing about our dog child.  There was enough indirect light from the streetlamps and nighttime lights for me to see Hope (our chocolate lab) lift herself up yoga style and gently rest her front paws on my wife’s side of the bed.  She then proceeded to take one paw and tap my wife gently on her shoulder, that type of nudge you give someone in an attempt to gain their attention without startling them.  It was the most precious exchange and yet I wanted no part in it because this is their 5 am routine without fail.  Until yesterday morning…

Somehow 5 am moved up an hour and a half earlier and it just made for a very unusual Saturday.  At 5:15 my wife said she was going to Walgreens (mainly because that was about the only store open at the time) and by 6 am I still couldn’t go back to sleep, so I went out to the front yard and started raking leaves in the dark.  The weather forecast called for rain all day beginning at 9 am so I figured we’d get the yard cleaned up a bit before the skies cut loose (and we did; and they did).

In a lucid moment recently I suppose, I jotted down the title for this entry and immediately thought of teachers.  From my observations, this postulate sums up the heartache and heartsake they reckon with every day.  And quite honestly, this closeness maxim likely applies to all PK-12 staff, regardless of their role. It likely applies to just about everyone in any type of transactional relationship.

A couple months ago, Gallup (as in THE Gallup polls) published some data that gave me pause, a sad pause.  Survey results by the company across many industries found workers in PK-12 education, including teachers, report significantly higher rates of burnout than full-time workers in any other industry.

The Closer We Are, The Harder the Challenge

Last weekend I was invited to keynote speak an event on school safety and accelerating student learning.  I landed just after the first quarter of my Frogs battling Kansas State so I was a bit frantic on getting to the hotel and finding the game on display.  TCU played tough and came back, only to fall in overtime.  Our QB’s story (LINK) is a great one and led me to this conclusion.

This is life.  This is real.  This is the body of our work.

And finally, I once worked for a UPS competitor in college with the 6 to 10 pm shift loading trailers for delivery.  I lasted 3 weeks.  I did a decent job (not great) but my shift supervisor said (and I’ll never forget it) “man you need to get as far from us as you can so you can be great.” Broke my heart that night – still weighs on me I guess. And indeed, the closer we are, the harder the challenge.  These connections ironically create the most chaos for us. But if you stick with them they can also create the greatest rewards. 

I hope everyone takes time this holiday season and puts aside the differences to just enjoy the closeness with those you hold close.