ME Time - Mindful Educator

  I have been in education for 21 years. Being educator is not only a job, but it is part of your persona, it is ingrained within your soul. The connections that you make with students, families and your colleagues are bonds that you keep with you forever. But being an educator can be extremely draining on you physically and emotionally. You have to develop a balance between your school life and your personal. The balance will never be 50/50 every day, but to keep yourself sane, it is important to Establish Boundaries.  There have been many instances during my career that I did not have great boundaries and my health and family suffered. As a new teacher, I didn't know how to say No. I volunteered for every committee, sponsored half a dozen clubs, while also having a case load over twenty and getting my masters at the same time. I thought I needed to do all those things to be considered a good employee, to show my dedication to my job. But I didn't really have a social life, I...

  My daughter is 16 years old and is absolutely mean to me. Before I go to bed each night I walk into her room to tell her good night and I love her, and I get a massive amount of attitude. I get told to get out and to leave her alone. The only time that she seems to be nice to me, is when she wants something. When she wants to use my car, or when she needs me to buy her something. Whenever I ask a question, I receive exaggerated eye rolls or get yelled at that its not my business.  The little girl that I would do crafts with, play mermaids with in the pool, sit and watch Twilight with, is totally gone from me. I feel like I've lost one of my best friends. I feel constantly rejected by her and that I'm worthless in her eyes. However.....with my mother, they are like giggly girlfriends, which I can't help but be jealous of.    One part of me is very thankful that they have a great relationship, but another side of me, is very bitter, because my mother and I have had a...

Telling people to practice Self-Care has almost become cliché. What one person does to care for themselves may look totally different than what someone else feels is caring. I’m guilty of trying to push self-care onto my staff. Two years ago, I dedicated February to opportunities for self-care instead of having staff meetings. There were several people who loved the activities, such as: hydration challenge, decorating pots and planting plants and sound bowl meditation. However, some people asked, “Do I have to do this? Can I just do work in my room?”. My Pinterest feed gets inundated with “Self-Care Challenges” or calendars dedicated to self-care, which give the same suggestions - Eat Healthier, Get More Sleep, Write a Post-it for Gratitude, the list can go on and on.  However, something that I realized is that when I was trying to practice Self-Care the activity was supposed to be calming and relaxing, but my thoughts were not very caring. I would be feeling guilty that I wasn’t w...

  Self-compassion helps us to honor our basic human experience without judgment. It gives us space to feel what we need to feel, how we need to feel it. It is the GRACE we need in order to thrive, not just survive. Download this FREE Self-Compassion Workbook to invoke self-compassion into your life manage difficult situations, negative thoughts or moments of doubt. https://mailchi.mp/e063d799f042/co0s1y62xj