A Prayer for Dress up Days

Whether it’s Red Ribbon Week, Homecoming, or plain ol’ school spirit, here’s a prayer for those who love or loathe dress-up days!

To the God who stretched the necks of giraffes, put eyes on the peacock’s feathers, and gave the turkey its wattle;

To the One who painted the sky, tilted the earth, and set it spinning, 

We give you praise for so much silliness.  

Now we arrive in socks with tassels, crazy hair, backward clothes, sunglasses and hats, and elaborate outfits from decades gone by.

You placed in us a desire for fun. 

When I am tempted to begrudge the shenanigans, teach me to embrace the joy. Our pressures are so great, it can be difficult to allow time for amusement, but we need these moments to build community in our classroom and in our school. They are not wasteful.

When I am tempted to throw in the towel on learning, help me resist. Our time is together is precious and my students’ success, perhaps long and short-term, depend on my commitment to doing my job well every day. Restore my purpose and show me how to use their energy to my instructional advantage. 

When the silliness leads to misbehavior and distraction, keep me from grumbling. Remind me that children need frivolity and perhaps I do too. These common experiences and memories of laughter are investments in our relationships with one another.

When I’m tempted to judge either the recklessness or irritability of others, remind me to be patient and kind, knowing that they carry burdens I cannot see.

Amen

The Good of Your Podcast Feed

Having attended a good number of youth group events and church camps as a kid, I’ve heard many versions of “be careful what you fill your mind with.” It usually centered on the “garbage in, garbage out” caution regarding rated R movies and hip-hop music.

I’ve realized lately that it’s not just about “bad stuff.” As I set my sights on launching a business to provide coaching and retreats, I did what people in 2019 do. I subscribed to a bunch of business podcasts. As a result, I started thinking about my “target audience” and working on my business plan. I have lists and spreadsheets and big goals broken into smaller goals. 

All of that is well and good, but without meaning to, I’d removed the creative voices from my feed. I found myself struggling to create meaningful content and progress on my fiction and narrative projects was completely stalled.

After months on the library’s waiting list, I finally got my turn with Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic. That led me to subscribe to her podcast which led me back to other creative input. And guess what? All of sudden my creative juices started flowing again. Writer’s block cured!

It’s tempting to go deep on something good, and not realize when it’s crowded out something essential. What “good stuff” competes for space in your feed?

Apples and Trees

I worked with a teacher who used to mutter "apples and trees, apples and trees." It was her way of explaining the behaviors of students after meeting their parents. Shorthand for "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

My husband and I used to joke (sort of) that we would divvy up our children's parent conferences by whoever's habits the offending behavior most resembled. i.e. talking out of turn, clowning around, he has to go; obstinance or questioning the teacher? I'll clear my schedule.

There's a lot of truth to "apples and trees."

Now that I'm a parent, I hear it as a challenge to confront my own bad habits, even my posture. What kind of adults do I want my children to become?

I have to work to be THAT kind of tree, because it's the most likely kind of apples I'll grow.

A Prayer for Parent-Teacher Conferences

Lord, it is the time of the year when I will meet with the parents and guardians of all my students. I will sit on this side of the threshold while they file in, listen to my prepared monologue, and file out. 

There is information that must be shared with everyone. Help me to remember that though I’ve said it many times, it is all new for the person in front of me. When I must share information specific to individual students, let me speak with compassion. When speaking about someone’s child, there is always danger of offense. They love their children fiercely, at time recklessly, and I must balance gentleness with truth. Let me avoid tip-toeing and show kindness through clarity. Make my care evident though my words and tone. 

Be with the families as they make arrangements to meet. Clear their paths for childcare, time away from work, and transportation. May they feel welcomed as they enter our building and confident as they come into our classroom.

I pray that our season of meetings is productive and more than routine. May we all find value and discovery in the time we spend together.

Amen

Trendy Wisdom

From the backseat of the car I heard, “Mom, listen to this. ‘Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.’ That’s really good, huh?”

Yeah, it is. But I didn’t think much of it. I’ve heard it before. 

Over the next couple of days, he repeated it over and over. When I reminded him to pack his lunch before bedtime, when he helped me plan our weekly menu and grocery list, and on the way to baseball practice he recognized the wisdom of the words and was struck by the cleverness of the phrase.

But I’d heard it before. I’ve seen it hand-lettered on chalkboards, spelled out on marquis, and posted on memes. And for that reason, I quit paying attention to it. We’ve reduced wisdom to fonts, Pinterest boards, and tattoos to the degree that their messages convey more trendiness than power.

Yet, wisdom endures. I may have become callous, but the nine-year old recognizes when he hears something that resonates with the truth of his experience. 

It rings true.