As we move into the final weeks of school, I never feel like I have enough time. There are always a hundred demands for my attention, presence, or information. I constantly feel like I'm chasing my tail and also letting others down by not giving them the attention that they deserve. Every day is a triage of determining what is most pressing, what can wait, and what can be done another way. It races by until graduation comes, students and teachers go home, and my life settles. It's the same way every Spring. Maybe if we did a better job of spreading out events throughout the year. Maybe if I had front-loaded observations earlier I'd have more time. Maybe if I wasn't as involved in scheduling, the planning for the new school, or some of the other things that take me out of the building I would be able to direct attention elsewhere. But that's not how life is and no matter how hard we try, schools can be unpredictable places that demand more from us than we can always provide.
In the absence of time, I find myself thinking of what needs to be done and fretting about what I didn't already get to. If I'm being honest, I could probably be doing something different than writing this right now, but throughout the week I saw some of the same tired faces on staff members that I know I have probably shown to you as well. We are all fighting for time right now and stressing that everything won't get done. But it will. It always does. And that's not because we fought for those precious seconds near the end. So collectively, on this last Friday in April, before we enter the rush of May, take a deep breath and know that it will be ok. We have a great team of people. Your presence with each other and in front of students is worth far more than the stress of worrying that it won't all be done perfectly. Hold on tight, because time in this last month is going to go fast, but there's a lot to enjoy along the way. Hang in there.
