'Tis the Season

Graduation always makes me a little nostalgic, so inevitability I get reflective and start remembering what a blast it was.  Perhaps, this provides a little insight into why I have chosen to spend my professional career working with students.  Well, it’s that time of year again as evidenced by my last post where we celebrated Addison’s graduation, so I figured I’d continue with the theme because I had a few more things to say.  While in this reflective mood, I realized that I have attended quite a few graduations.  I also realized that this spring marks the 5^th Anniversary of graduation from grad school.  Holy cow, has it really been that long? 

 I still remember the details and feeling so clearly.  It was such an accomplishment. I remember the keynote speaker reading statistics at commencement.  Only 6.7 % of the world wide population has a bachelor’s degree.  If you were graduating with a master’s degree you were among only 1% of the  population and those receiving a doctorate were among only 0.5% of the world wide population.  I remember that it was super humid in the back hallways that lead to the auditorium floor at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.  I remember sitting amongst some amazing, future school counselors and that we were so excited for what was next.  I remember feeling so lucky that my friends and family had traveled thousands of miles to support me as I walked across the stage and received the diploma from my favorite professor.  I also remember right before we graduated that this same professor encouraged us to write a couple of reflections about our experience, what we learned and what we thought the future might look like.  On the heels of a fantastic seniors’ awards banquet last night, for my students, I decided to find these reflections.  I’ll share some more tomorrow, but the first one was written in response to the prompt, imagine your life exactly 5 years from today, this exact moment.  What will it look like?   

Little did I know…

“Humor and laughter are perhaps the best way we can “get over” ourselves.  Humor can bring us together around our inescapable foibles, confusions, and miscommunications, and especially over the ways in which we find ourselves acting entitled and demanding, or putting other people down, or flying at each other’s throats.”

                This was my favorite quote from a book that we read in our final counseling in the schools class.  The book seemed to be more for personal and counselor identity development that anything.  In the book there was  a story about a women and her ex-husband and how a shift in her perspective indeed changed their situation, outlook and her life.  She called it “remembering rule number 6”.  Some days I think it would be so helpful if we all just wore a post it note with a 6 written on it, on our foreheads.

I know that the majority of days I could benefit from not taking myself so seriously, and it’s funny (no pun intended) how much I have referenced it this week.  I referenced it as I completed daily tasks and solved the latest dilemma, but I also started thinking of rule number six as it pertains to the unknowns, or let’s put a positive spin on things, the potentials that await me.  I even let it seep into the “daydreams” of the future and you know what?  It made this underlying feeling of restlessness and the need to figure out what is going to happen next and where I will land so much more fun.  I thought a lot about the part of the chapter that said, "what would you have to change to make this possible? " I decided to pretend that as I looked to the future I had nothing hindering me, not necessarily the most serious approach, but oh so great!

In the spirit of rule number six I threw caution into the wind I imagined five years into the future!  This would certainly not be too serious and it might even have gotten at what I really want in life.  Here’s what I came up with: I imagined exactly five years from this moment.  It’s 6:59am on May 27, 2012 one of those bright and sunny mornings with an absence of clouds.  You can almost taste the fresh air.  I’m in the mountains, loving my life.  It’s summer break and I am thoroughly enjoying my day off from school.  I have just returned with my golden retriever back down the mountain to our little condo.  I am so content with life; it’s amazing! I walk into the kitchen of my apartment and I’m greeted with a cup of coffee and a little note.  I am on the brink of something great! Why, because I  finally pretended that the man of the moment, or more like my life he had a post it stuck to his forehead.  I stopped worrying so damn much about figuring things out and just went for it.  So what will I do today? Be happy, listen to some great music and read a great book.  Soaking it all in at my upstairs condo with wood floors and big comfortable furniture surrounded by the photos of the people I love all around me! Life is good.   

This was funny for me to read.  I was a little off, and sometimes Barrett even  teases me about the “glorious condo” I was going to live in and all the fab shoes that were going to line my closet.  I think perhaps I misunderstood the estimated earnings for school counselors, or maybe  just glossed over that detail.  What I will tell you is that it is 5 years from May  27, 2007 and if I were to re-write this to be accurate, it would go as follows:    It’s 6:59am on May 27, 2012 one of those bright and sunny mornings with an absence of clouds.  There air is a little humid and heavy this morning.  It’s going to be a hot one.  I live in Minnesota, and I’m  loving my life.  It’s almost summer break and I am thoroughly enjoying my Memorial Day weekend.  We intentionally didn’t schedule a single thing all weekend.   I have just returned with my sweet baby from a morning run to our little house (I’m desperately missing that golden retriever who went to heaven way too early last winter).  I am so content with life, a little tired after an evening of midnight, baby entertaining. I hoof it up the stairs.  Mmmm smells like coffee.  As soon as Barrett gets back from his run, we’re going to whip up some strawberry pancakes.   This is so great!  Why, because the man of my life already had rule 6 figured out and was living it when I fell in love with him.  I never worried about figuring things out and just went for it.  So what will I do today? Be happy, listen to some great music, kiss my baby and my husband, play fetch with my mini-dog, plant a garden and BBQ with friends. Soaking it all in, in “our” house with wood floors and big comfortable furniture surrounded by the photos of the people I love all around me! Life is so good.