Saturday, April 28, 2012

Soap Box: "Bored"

I've never been bored. It's true. I cannot think of a time when those words actually came out of my mouth or have even welled-up in my head. No, there's always something to do, make, clean, learn, read, etc.

And, as a teacher, it drives me crazy to hear the words "I'm bored" come out of a student's mouth. All of my mental power, energy, strength, and passion go into creating meaningful activities for the students. At any one time there are always options for students to do after they have finished another task. "I'm bored" really has no place in my classroom or in my life.

I think I actually, unconsciously, chose the teaching profession because it is an occupation in which you can never be idle, bored, or complacent. It just really doesn't lend itself to a profession where details can go by the wayside... there's always something the prepare, rethink, dissect, and scrap. Not to mention all of the accommodations, differentiated lessons, and meetings that you also have to squeeze into the limited time in your day. Let me tell you, this can also be very draining for this somewhat anal perfectionist. This is why I firmly believe that teachers need their summers.

I once heard that women's minds work almost like a computer screen. We can keep many "windows" open at once and it is hard for us to ex-out of them and focus on one, at any one time. When I heard that, I immediately connected with this metaphor. Yes, how do you keep only one window open?

Last weekend Jim and I drove to see my dad's children's musical, Belle Prater's Boy, and I had a conversation with someone who had an aortic artery dissection. He's a family friend and wanted to chat and compare notes about our similar situations. His, obviously, was much more serious than my own, but we certainly had some similarities. My favorite part of the conversation was when he jested about being told to "take a break," "relax," and "go rest." With a huge smile and a jovial laugh, he explained that it's "tough" to be told to go lie down and take it easy. "Oh, alright. If you say so..." It's too true.

For someone who's used to moving, doing, and scampering all over the place, it's been a huge adjustment for me to take it easy. Jim left for class today (yes, on a Saturday) and asked what I would be doing while he was gone. I responded, "I suppose I'll knit, watch a few of Kelly's movies, grade some quizzes, and play fetch with Leif." But I could also do the breakfast dishes, wash the laundry, mop the kitchen, clean my desk, lesson plan for next week, call a few friends and family members, make an itinerary for our road trip, go to the pharmacy, etc.

Where's the time to be "bored?" I don't get it.

With the rain pelting the roof, I almost feel like it's a sign to just sit, relax, and take it easy. But I don't consider sitting and relaxing to be the same thing as being bored. I almost enjoy this season of my life when I can appreciate sitting back. And I will attempt to keep only one or two windows open, while I'm at it :)

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On Tuesday my INR was, once again, too low (1.8). So my dose has been increased to the maximum amount of 15 mg/day and I'll go back on Tuesday, May 1st, to see if the level has improved. 

1 comment:

  1. If a student said that they were bored, I usually called it the "B" word..and it wasn't allowed in my classroom! I, too, never remember being bored. I've also heard "Boring people are bored" but that's pretty harsh, I guess. Relax and enjoy. Love you.

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