I'm Not Good at Everything

Sitting with the accreditation team last Friday, it was abundantly clear that I'm not good at everything. Some of their suggestions for improvement were made clear that they were my failure to implement. When you hear criticism like that, it's hard not to take it personally. Like anyone, I replayed the conversation over and over in my head. Self-doubt and thoughts of what I could have said (but probably shouldn't have) ran through my brain all weekend and into this week. It wasn't until I was giving some advice to a teacher, that I realized that there are just some things that I'm not good at, and that's ok. I chuckled in my head all week as I started to compile a list of Things I'm Not Good At Doing, here are some of my favorites.

I'm not good at letting things go
Maybe it's my Irish blood, but I feel like I have to fight things. Even when they are small and relatively pointless. The fake news about NC changing student grading scales this week brought that out in me. I just couldn't keep myself from trying to correct every human I came into contact with.

I'm not good at remembering meetings or events.
Many of you know this, especially if you didn't email me a reminder. If it doesn't go on my calendar, it's almost certain that I'll miss it. Even if it does, there's a good chance I'll get distracted. I almost always try to get people to remind me if I know it's important.

I don't treat my children like my students
I have much less patience with my own children than I do for students in the school. Maybe I take my long day out on them, or maybe my expectation is much higher for them. Either way, I catch myself being short with them too often.

I hate fruit
I know that it's good for me, but I really can't stand it. Except for apples, but don't cook those. At times I have exercised and eaten healthy to improve my health, but I just can't bring myself to eat fruit.

I don't sleep enough
I never have really. I sit up at night and over process things in my head. While I normally get 6 hours of sleep, there are days every week that I only get 3. Those days usually compound the effect of the other things that I'm not good at doing.

So here's the thing...I don't have to be good at everything. And neither do you. We are all human and we have different skills and abilities. None of us teach the exact same way. We have good days and bad days. But as long as we work toward improvement and we support one another, we almost always negate each other's deficits. Luckily, I work with some pretty awesome people. They remind me to let some things go. They help me get where I'm supposed to be. They say things that make me proud of my girls. And they remind me to take care of myself when they see me struggling.

Remember, this job is tough and at times, it can take a lot out of you. Take care of yourself and take care of one another. You don't have to be good at everything. You just have to be good for each other.