3-05-11 Keepin' a positive spin

Okay so it's no big secret education is going through some big cuts now a days. I guess it would be very easy to jump on the negative band wagon and point fingers at this, that, or the other. Fact is I am still pretty damn happy to be a teacher (at Vista Middle School) and being involved in the lives of youngsters everyday gives me a level of satisfaction few professions will ever enjoy. I try my best to be positive and upbeat no matter the circumstance and I realize how truly blessed I am to have the job I do, to be a sponsored athlete http://www.trisports.com/ (at 41/42), and to have been given the opportunity to change the life of a child (weather it be for a life time or a moment in time)....

I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed that the pay cuts will affect me, that the teacher cuts probably will effect our awesome sped program, or that our new governer has already broken promises made (politician). See what I mean easy to get negative, but the truth is that I honestly wouldn't want to be anything else. I have never wanted to be an administrator because I love life in the trenches, trying to go pro years ago was never a wise decision, and even after meeting...and losing some pretty damn cool students I am comfortable in saying I have very few regrets in my profession.

Just as easy as it is to become negative, for me, it's just as simple to let the storm clouds roll in and become down. In the past, I had the tendency to just get wet. I can't really explain it and even though there were always positives all around I wouldn't allow myself out of the quicksand.....until relatively recently:) I like to think of myself as never really doing anything half ass and at times it has been both a blessing and a curse. Years ago when I met a kid who had absolutely no home life, in jail, and no positive role model, I stepped in. If I wouldn't have, probably nobody would have....not like the way I did! When a young boy was put in my program years later that nobody else wanted I did my best to let him know he was all good in my book, no matter what. If my attitude were any different I wouldn't have some pretty fond memories of those two and more importantly those two wouldn't have had someone to look up to...if only for a while. Yes, the outcomes get to me to this day, but I have no regrets with the love I showed them, the positive spin I tried to put on their lives, or the way they will remain with me....I am good with myself about it.

Yesterday I went for a run and it sucked, every step hurt, and I just wasn't into it. I was thinking something may be seriously wrong or I was just too damn old for this shit anymore, honestly! I got back to the pool, finally, and I start seeing all these positive people that I realize have helped me; not replace memories, but outweigh the hurtful ones. Today I went for a run and I don't know if it was all the beer I drank after last night's crappy run, the fact that I had Perfect by Pink on repeat, or that I actually got 10 hours of sleep, but the run was a PR on a course I do pretty regular. Go figure, just like my life from wanting to throw in the towel to knowing I have a shot at winning a few tri's this season in the course of about 14 hours. I couldn't help but think, as I listened to Pink, at least they felt someone in their life cared about them and think they  were perfect.. it's too bad not more did..

I decided to end on one of the biggest positives in my teaching tenure at Vista. It is Leticia (who I ran into at the pool yesterday). She is well on her way to becoming the best blind swimmer in the USA! Next week she is off to Minnesota for a meet that will put her on the map and I am so so so very proud of her! She thought I was absolutely crazy when I talked her into going out for track her 8th grade year. Instead of thinking of all the reasons she couldn't do it, we channeled our attention on making the accommodations which ultimately made it possible. These are the memories I will cherish, dwell on, and hold strong to...

 Running and placing in the 800

 Long jump with complete trust

 12 feet!

 From a 14 minute 400 to a 31 sec 50 in just a couple years!

 Worth a thousand words...

The finish line was just her beginning:)  Happiness and sadness is all around it's the one we choose to feed that will grow, foster, and flourish.  PEACE.....