The scars we choose

It’s 2019 and tattoos seemed to be more popular than ever among all demographics. But 20 years ago when I got my first tattoo people often questioned my decision to have a permanent mark on my body. Do you really have something so important it needs to be on your body forever?  How is that going to look in 30 years, 40 years, 50 years? What if you don’t like it later? 

And here’s my answer every time: our bodies tell a story. As we age we collect marks and scars that create a map of our lives. I have stretch marks from my pregnancies, a piece of graphite in my left hand from when my friend accidentally stabbed me during Spanish class in high school, a scar on my chin where I got my first stitches, chicken pox scars... and who knows how many other scars I will acquire as my life unfolds. Most of the scars I didn’t choose are about pain. My life has also been full of strength and love and resilience. My tattoos are the scars that I choose. They are the details of my existence that I select to be on my life map that is my body.   At the end of the day tattoos allow me to control the story that’s told. 

Here are some of my highlights:

Guardian Angel - my first tattoo is an angel that’s positioned on the inside of my left hip. A friend of mine drew it and my two best friends in high school and I got it together after we graduated. It symbolized our loyalty to each other and commitment to taking care of each other even as our lives took different paths. We are still this close, going on 25 years. 

Strength - I grew up in a fairly religious family that prayed regularly. My mom was pretty clear that it was wrong to pray for tangible things, greedy things, lazy things, that we shouldn’t be wasting God’s time  on trivial matters. Because I was brought up this way, throughout the hardest parts of my life there was only one thing I ever prayed for: strength. Strength to work through difficulty, to persevere, to learn from my mistakes, to forgive others. It has been central to my mental and emotional health and the symbol for strength is positioned on the center of my lower back. 

Shamrock - my family is very proud to be Irish, my grandpa in particular. When he passed, I got a shamrock tattooed on the inside on my left wrist. This was my first visible tattoo and it felt really important to me to have a reminder of him where I could see it every day. 

Punctuation - on the back of my left ankle is a vertical punctuation tattoo: dot, dot, comma. This serves two important meanings is my life: first, the three symbols represent the publication of my first three books, a huge professional milestone for me. Second, the three symbols create four punctuation marks, each with their own meaning: period, as a reminder to stop before the disclaimer “smart for a woman”, “strong for a girl”, etc. and instead own that we are simply smart, strong, etc. No disclaimers. Next, colon, a reminder to pay attention to the details, there’s always more to every story. Semi-colon, as a reminder that we are all connected. Comma, as a reminder to breath. 

Mother - at the top of my back is the Celtic symbol for mother. Inside of it is the birthstone for each of my children. 

I choose... I had this statement posted on my office wall for more than 5 years. As a reminder that I don’t always have control over every situation but I ultimately choose how I respond to it. How do we survive trauma and break the cycle? How are we not dragged down by every challenge we face. Every trial and tribulation in our lives can make us bitter or better. It’s about attitude. And conscious decision making. Every day, I choose. I choose my response, I choose to push back against adversity, and I choose to keep pushing toward my goals. I choose. This powerful reminder is now on the inside of my right wrist.

5-peak mountain - my most recent tattoo on my right forearm symbolizes my love for travel, the ten-year anniversary of my mountain hike engagement, and the publication of my fifth book. 

These are important parts of my story. But there’s more to come. More story that I need to tell through the scars that I choose. 

Teachers: Before you post your countdown to summer...

“Just 4 more spelling tests!”

“Parents, tag - you’re it!”

”Must be a full moon again!”

“Last IEP meeting!”

We get it, the last month of school is hard. You’re eager for summer, the kids are eager for summer, administration is eager for summer. At a time when jobs are scarce, teachers are underpaid, and educators across the board are undervalued, messages like these can be conveying more than you mean for them to. So, before you post your complaints publicly in your social media page for the world to absorb, please consider the following:

Teaching is the only profession that gets a long-term break from the work. Sure, you spend your summer going to PD, making lesson plans, and purchasing supplies but remember that extra time with your own family isn’t a luxury other professions get. 

When you count down to every break and summer vacation, it seems like you don’t value the job you have. You probably often look forward to being in the classroom - post about your job on those days. 

When you complain about the class, it seems like you don’t really like children. You’ve committed your life to helping children, reflect that passion.  

When you complain about one child specifically (even namelessly) we wonder if it’s our child or what our child’s teacher would say about our child. And we wonder if we should trust any of you. Before you post about a single child, imagine how that child’s parents would feel if they read it. Imagine if the child himself read your words. You are a helper, be sure your words are aligned with your actions. 

When your main focus is your breaks and days off, it’s hard to advocate for your higher pay and release time. As tired as you may be, keep your energy on the work. Don’t let the community forget how important your work is. 

Putting pressure back on parents makes it feel less like a community and more like a competition. We’re on the same team here, don’t heckle your teammates when you tag out for a bit. Have their backs because you need them to have yours too. 

Expressing your frustration publicly turns the focus away from what you do well and puts the spotlight on things you’d never put in a job description (I.e. how many holidays you have per year). You work hard, you really, really do. Please be sure your social media pages reflect your genuine passion for being an educator and for growing our children. 

We know where your heart is, keep your words there too. 

And please do enjoy your summer, you deserve it. 

(Worth noting: I am writing this as a parent but I’m also an educator of nearly 20 years.)

It was just a matter of when

It was always going to hurt.

It was always going to end. 

It was just a matter of when. 

The loss of a loved one, the death of a beloved family dog, the end of a romantic relationship - the hit is deep, the hit is hard, and the pain is real. The end is inevitable, it’s just a question of when it is going to make its bitter arrival. 

As a realist, accepting the end is the most important part of the beginning for me. Recognizing and committing to the hurt that will eventually come is necessary. However, despite entering every situation with eyes wide open, the end always comes. In waves of sadness, resistance, grief, and hurt. I try to avoid it, fight it, and rationalize it. I read these three statements over and over in an effort to embrace the outcome that always comes. 

There’s no such thing as a happy ending. If things were happy, they wouldn’t end. Every situation will end badly otherwise it wouldn’t end at all. When we create space for new love, we must also ask, can we handle the void that will forever exist when love no longer does?

Act As If You Can

When I initially started my career as an early childhood educator, I had the honor and privilege of hearing an incredible speaker, Chick Moorman. He said something that completely changed how I parent, how I teach children, and how I view myself. Childhood is a unique time of fluctuating independence and dependence, autonomy and reliance, which becomes a delicate balance of helping children develop both their skills and their confidence. In our best efforts, when a child is struggling, we often encourage them to just "try". The downside is that "trying" includes the possibility of failure. Enter Chick Moorman. He said instead of telling children to try, we should tell them to "act as if you can". It simply means to persevere, keep working at it until you get it. It falls in line with the "fake it till you make it" approach except children aren't faking anything, development is simply just in progress. It shifts the mindset from the potential to fail to the likelihood of success or existing ability to be successful.

I often hear adults of my parents' generation often say that children these days give up too easily. And that may be so. When did we lose our ability to push through and overcome difficulty? When did failure become a moment of despair and giving up rather than a moment of learning and growth?

The issue of instant gratification.

A significant difference in how our society functions now in comparison to 30 or 40 years ago is how quickly our needs are met. The internet, smart phones, fast food, online shopping, Amazon Prime, etc. have made it easier than ever to have anything we need at our fingertips right when we need it whether it is food, information, entertainment, or supplies. We've virtually eliminated the necessity of waiting which has decreased children's ability to think through situations, consider alternatives, and manage their emotions. In turn it has increased impulsivity and the expectation that anything we need will come to us immediately, and potentially without effort.

Distracted from difficulty. 

Closely related to the issue of instant gratification is how much we distract ourselves from things that are boring, uncomfortable, or hard. We even take our cell phones to the bathroom with us as if 5 minutes doing what our bodies are designed to do can't be given our undivided attention. Beyond the bathroom, we see this as children playing on tablets waiting for their food, watching TV while we get our teeth cleaned. I've even seen TVs at gas pumps and in elevators. This habit has weakened our ability to do hard things, to have the attention span for being uncomfortable, resulting in the tendency to give up and lowering our confidence to continue working at it.

Are you modeling perseverance? 

When you find that your child or the children in your life are giving up easily, consider what they are observing in the adults around them. Where are your gaps in confidence and what do you do when something is hard or doesn't go your way? Are you modeling making multiple attempts, managing your emotions, and continuing your efforts until you're successful? Consider narrating encounters with difficulty, articulating your brainstorming process, verbalizing feelings as you problem solve, and reflecting on successes. Children learn best by watching adults so if we change our behavior first, they are more likely to change theirs.

In my personal experience as a parent, it is often difficult to modify our behaviors. It can be hard to remember what our long term goals are and persist continually to achieving them. In the face of this challenge, I know I'm going to struggle, but I will continue to work at it and constantly remind myself: "act as if you can".

Exercise your privilege

I am white.

I am heterosexual.

My pronouns are she, her, hers.

I was well into my twenties before anyone had used the word ”privileged” to describe me. And embarrassingly, well into my thirties before I understood what that meant. I initially thought, “what privilege? I’m just moving along here, living my life.” Of course I thought that. Privilege at its finest. Two key things happened to open up my thinking and actions. 

First, I began to understand that privilege doesn’t mean my life hasn’t been hard, it means that my race, gender, and sexual orientation aren’t things making my life hard. You’ve probably heard this before. People of all races, genders and sexual orientations experience trauma, poverty, failure, etc. My privilege actually eased my path through those common challenges rather than creating or amplifying them.

Second, I started to listen to people that have been marginalized, implicitly and explicitly. I began to understand their experiences were vastly different than my own. 

The more time I spent in this, the more I realized that it is not enough for me to simply understand and own my privilege, I have a social obligation to use my privilege to fight systems of oppression that perpetuate the white, cisgender, heteronormative culture we live in. Committing to that was easy. Understanding how to do it was not. 

Here’s an example of one step I took. A colleague of mine always introduces herself with her pronouns: she, her, hers. At first it just seemed interesting. And then I asked her why she did it. And she explained that when she does so it makes it more comfortable for people to express theirs. And that if she doesn’t do it, she’s perpetuating the binary norms that usually come down to assumptions based on looks. Even if every person in the room was cis, starting with her pronouns is a gentle reminder that not everyone is cis. So I started to do this. But then I got lazy and forgot. Because I have the privilege to! And that made me realize how important it is that I do it every single time. Non-binary people don’t get to be lazy about fighting for space, it’s not fair for me to get lazy about making it. 

What are you doing to push back against white, cisgender, heteronormative culture to make space? 

Flashback Friday - Hopscotch

I recently discovered some of my writing I had saved from High School and college, prompting a new series in my blog: Flashback Friday. Please enjoy this first edition. 

Hopscotch

(Circa 1998)

I used to play hopscotch

Without a care in the world. 

Everyone played

And we never knew their names. 

It didn’t matter, it was fun just the same. 

Times moved on

and so did we. 

And soon it was just a faded memory. 

Now I have friends

Acquaintances and close, 

Mom and Dad. 

They all stick around.

Temporarily, at most. 

In the end,

My heart is broken and cold. 

And here I stand,

Betrayed and alone. 

Maybe I’ll go play hopscotch. 

This was definitely from a significant period of life when the reality of changing relationships was sinking in. I was adjusting to my parents separation/divorce, young romances ending abruptly, and friendships changing as we gradually morphed into adults. I longed for the simplicity of childhood and lacked the maturity to accept that there was no way to return to it. 

I still feel the pull toward the easier times in my youth but also recognize the growth, wisdom, and insight that comes from painful experiences. It’s hard to find that easy companionship as adults but it exists in our shared enthusiasm at concerts, knowing glances as we struggle with our children in the grocery store, and long hugs from friends that just get us, no explanation needed. These connections are bigger, deeper, because of the years of experience that molded them. 

Hopscotch sure seems a lot easier most days but I wouldn’t trade away my years of living and growing to be back on that playground. I can smile because the happy memories happened and give a respectful nod to the struggling teenager I was back then.  And be grateful that I’ve come to embrace periodic change and pain not as something to be avoided but a s part of truly living. 

Do all the things

I have two small children, a full time job, a side gig writing books and teaching at a university, I run, my husband and I go on dates, we love cross-country family road trips, I have 20 best friends that I connect with regularly, and I never miss a party. People say things like “I don’t know how you do it”. Behind my back they probably say things like “she’s trying too hard” or “what is she trying to prove” or “she’s going to wear herself out trying to do all the things”. I get it. My life is pretty full and would exhaust most people. 

The recent label likely put on this would be FOMO - fear of missing out. Which, is probably sometimes true. But more than that, this is simply the life I choose. I’m not “trying too hard” I’m just simply trying to make all the things I want work for me. And they do. Our life is full and happy and exactly what I want it to be. 

When I was in grad school, a fellow student looked at my professional vitae and said, “how can I compete with that?” but the truth is, no one should be competing with me. Except me. We should each be living the exact life that we want and makes sense for us. 

Social media has amplified this notion of “fear of missing out”. When we see someone running a marathon, we think “why don’t I make time to run?” Or when someone takes a trip to another country, it’s easy to think “why aren’t we taking big trips like this?” It’s completely appropriate to periodically assess your values and priorities. Are your daily actions matching up with your priorities? If not, it would be a good  time to make an adjustment. But we need to let go of the habit of assessing our daily actions based on someone else’s values, priorities, and energy. We should be able to celebrate the lives of others without feeling like that’s what ours should look like. 

So, do all the things - but keep it limited to doing all the things that make you happy. And don’t worry that someone else’s life is too much or not enough for you. It might be just what they need.