Wednesday, January 28, 2015

It’s the Thought that Counts


You are less than four months away from achieving your degree, getting certified to teach, and snagging that dream job. Why are you not inspired? Well, let’s see:

 

It’s the Thought that Counts

By Megan Springs

You are tired.

You probably got the flu that was being passed around

just before Christmas Break at your placement school—

and your college campus, your family, and every public area within 50 miles of town.

Because you’d previously been under the delusion that taking 17 credit hours would be a good idea and ended up neglecting the entirety of your personal life, friends, neighbors, pets, and

even your housekeeping duties so badly in the last semester;

you spent the entire break making it up to them –

You did not rest, and you are not well rested,

as everyone who welcomes you back hopes that you are.

It’s the thought that counts.

Of course, as soon as you returned, you caught the flu

that was being passed around after the break—

You know, the one that students actually traveled across whole states

in order to catch and bring back just for you?

It’s the thought that counts.

You arrive home late after an eight hour day in the classroom, a three hour meeting for a college club, and a one hour commute, to find your husband sitting on the couch watching football, totally oblivious to the baby who is playing quietly beside him – with your entire canister of flour, expertly using your best powder brush to mash the flour granules into the fibers of your couch cushion as he shakes out tiny drops of apple juice all over this masterpiece with his sippy cup.  “Made you picture Mommy!”

It’s the thought that counts.

There is a story of a woman who wanted to climb the tallest mountain.

On her journey, she suffered from thorns and thistles that pricked her tender skin as she ascended each rock cliff with slow, painful, determination.

She shivered under the cold rain, the biting ice,

and wheezed in the thin air as she climbed higher and higher.

However, when she reached the top, there were still thorns and thistles, there was still rain and ice, there was even the thinnest air she had ever tasted, -- But

There was also sunshine, miles and miles and miles of breathtaking beauty, a sense of peaceful satisfaction for what she has accomplished.

When someone later asked the woman if she would endure the journey again,

Her only reply was that the journey was the only reason she did it in the first place.

Don’t be afraid of the journey. It’s the getting there that makes the difference!

4 comments:

  1. YES MA'AM!
    This poem is speaking to me on so many levels. Life is hard right now, and it's only going to get harder, but we will make it through this!
    You are correct though, this journey has been a pain.
    It's been late night, deadlines, last second changes, struggles, crying, and a giant migraine. However, we have learned to push our intellectual minds farther then we thought possible. We have come from all walks of life and come together as a family. When one of us struggles the rest come to help. We have made friendships that is mightier than any distance we can travel. We have laughed and cried together. Despite our differences, age, politics or what have you, we have shown that caring for others and putting their needs above our own have shown true to our character. We have learned how to be educators by learning how to help each other. I would gladly take this journey with any one in our core group again without hesitation. Now let's take this last leg of the journey and finish this!
    Thanks again for sharing this poem!

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  2. As Austin's comment attests, your poem speaks to all of the weary travelers on this journey. I am grateful that you are all traveling together, lifting each other up along the way. Thanks for this beautiful poem, Megan.

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  3. Since I went back to college after having 3 children, I can totally relate to your experience. Forgive me, please, for I did laugh out loud at the picture you painted of the baby playing in the flour. You will complete the semester with your sanity intact and get that job you worked so hard for. The view at the top is amazing. Keep on climbing.

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  4. Austin –
    Thank you for such an encouraging comment! I am so thankful that we all support each other the way that we do. I am very lucky to be a part of such an amazing group of people! It has been a wonderful journey so far, and I know that we are going to ROCK semester because we are all working together!

    Dr. Mason & Ms. Strum -
    Thank you for the kind words! I couldn’t agree more! I think that there is a very good reason that learning to become a teacher is not easy…the best things never are. I have learned so much from my classmates, my mentors, and my students and my heart fills more will each passing semester. There was a time when I would have never imagined teaching, but now I could not imagine doing anything else!

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