Easter

Given that Easter is a time of rebirth and renewal, I thought it prudent to start my blogging experience today. As I write this, my daughter is sleeping beside me. She is eight years old, and it is not typical that she would nap in the middle of the day, but the rattle in her nose and the labored breathing tell me she is resting her body and on the brink of a spring cold. My son, almost 11, is frantically searching the house for his lost DS. A year ago, he decided he didn't like his DS anymore. Now, however, he found a game of interest and is somewhat surprised that he (1) can't find it and (2) can't get anyone else in the family to help him!

But the real reason I am here is this. For the past seven months, I have made a commitment to being happy. Before my mother died, she reminded me often to "lighten up". You see, I have a tendency to take myself a bit too seriously at times. Somewhere around August, with a new school year approaching -- the 18th of my career -- I decided that I needed to listen to that ghostly whisper bouncing around in my head. Lighten up!

At the beginning of this school year, I set myself some specific goals: spend more time with my own kids, smile more, get back in physical shape, attend to an appropriate level of stress and recovery (physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually). To my amazement, it worked. I lost 20 pounds without doing much other than walking more and eating less. I made new friends regularly. I had more time to spend with my own kids doing things we enjoy together --reading, movies, hiking, swimming, playing games. There was only one problem.

My marriage.

But before I go into that, I must explain the title of this blog. "Other people's children". I spend about 50 hours a week, give or take, spending quality time with other people's children, ages 11 - 18. I love being a school principal. I love working with kids. Somewhere a few years ago, though, I started to worry that I was better at being a principal than a mom. This blog is my attempt both to share my experiences at attempting to strike the PERFECT balance as a working mom, and also to elicit your feedback because I know you have stories to tell. Everyone has a story.

I just hope you find mine worth reading.

So, for today, I simply invite anyone who happens to stumble across this simple blog to share with me your answer to this question:


What have you always wanted to ask a middle school/high school principal but been afraid to ask?