I'm a little bit better.
Little by little I will find myself again.
Yesterday, I was headed in a positive direction, and making a mental list of what helps me get back on the road to me. I thought I'd share that list with you in case you ever find yourself in such a place.
1. Take my medicine. (I'll write more about that in another post, but to be honest, ADHD is not the only chemical imbalance present in my brain.)
2. Leave my computer. This week I left it at home on Monday night and Wednesday night. And I'm leaving it there tonight too. I miss it (and it's Facebook capabilities) when it's at school, but I recognize the need to unplug every so often.
3. Have a good bunch of your class missing. Wednesday is my LEAP day, and even though my Leapers are my favorites, it's nice to have 5 less bodies in the room. It also allows me to work with the non-leapers that REALLY need my help with long division.
4. Have a kid get his head stuck in a chair and laugh until it hurts your stomach. You can't always orchestrate that, but you have to go wtih it when you get it.
5. One-song dance party. This is something I occasionally do with my students when we just need to breathe. We had about five minutes at the end of the day, and that's just enough for this group of 4th graders to get something started that will result in the calling of the authorities and/or the fire department. By definition, it's one song, and they may dance the five minutes away and be crazy and loud and if I'm lucky, a conga line will break out.
6. Attempt a conversation with your custodians. I have two little hispanic ladies that clean my room. Since I am always there when they come by to get the trash, we have conversations. I am not very good at Spanish, but I do know more than most people...just enough to get me in trouble. Every day I know a little bit of what we're talking about, and wonder if the other conversations we have leave me agreeing to donate a kidney or something like that. You just never know, but it makes their day.
7. Windows down. Radio up. Especially if you're bouncing around to a little Pomplamoose.
8.Wednesday night dinner. Last night's dinner was so exciting that we broke out the long division on a napkin. So it wasn't really that exciting, but a couple of us at the table were going through this funk and so we weren't our usual rowdy selves. But we were still all there and it helps.
9. Clean Sheet Night. This delight is usually reserved for the weekends, but since I'm not bringing my computer home, I have a little extra around-the-house time. I just can't describe the feeling of sliding into soft, fresh from the dryer sheets that are so luxurious and help you drift off to sleep...
10. A journal, a Bible, and a list of things to talk to God about. They make uncontrollable situations a little more bearable.
11. Dinner with my BFF. I haven't seen her in too long (like, weeks...) and I haven't talked to her but twice this week. No wonder I'm in a funk. She gets me and knows me and lets me be me uncensored.
What about you?
What helps you feel a little more like yourself when things have gone all pear-shaped?
I dream of going some place new. And I'm actually thinking of driving there because maybe forcing me to be alone will help. That way when I cry no one will see me and anyone that drives by me won't know me.
ReplyDeleteI do that sometimes. Drive to the city limits...have a good cry. Purge it all out. We are taught so often to hold it all in and not cry, but then sometimes, crying and letting it all out helps even more.
ReplyDelete