Today definitely goes in the Win column. The awesome stuff that happened:
How was your day? Did you accomplish anything worth bragging about?
- I met with one of my former students to look over a paper he was stressing over. Donating a little of my time to someone else who reached out to me felt like a very small contribution to the goodness of the world. I'm so glad I did this. The 2012 version of me would have made up an excuse or else ignored the email, but I'm really dedicating myself to my goal of being more giving.
- I got some Latin reading done in my effort to gear up for attempt number 2 on my big exam. I feel anxious when I'm even studying. I'm so full of doubt. But I know that I'm doing myself a lot of good with every line I read, and that knowledge keeps me going.
- I picked up two books from the library: A Fine Balance and White Oleander. I started the former, go through about 90 of the 600+ pages. It's pretty amazing so far. The main character is captivating. I love when an author lets you take your time meeting a character.
- I took a pilates class for the first time ever. It was amazing. We were doing a lot of the exercises and stretches that my physical therapist had me doing for my piriformis. This is something I am definitely going to stick with. I'm going to try to take at least one class per week. I'm aiming for a pretty serious increase in my core strength, and since I absolutely loathe doing abs work, I think these classes just might help me meet my goal without noticing how much I hate the work.
- I also did 15 really intense minutes one the bike (5 miles and 100+ rpm the whole time!).
- Tonight I'm going to do a little knitting and then do a late night pick up of a friend from the train station. All of this is very others-oriented and yet I feel like it serves me too. I feel good about this.
- And I had a photo shoot...
How was your day? Did you accomplish anything worth bragging about?
What a fantastic day! Days can sound so amazing when you break them down into accomplishments instead of just what you did. I had a breakthrough in my ongoing syllabus-writing and I ran 6 miles at a good pace on hilly, windy conditions. Not too bad, but not exclamation-point worthy.
ReplyDeleteUuuuhm, breakthroughs in anything to do with writing syllabi are totally exclamation-point worthy! That shiz does NOT come naturally! (To me, anyway.) Congrats on the run, too!
DeleteYikes, Latin. Two years of that in high school were enough for me!
ReplyDeleteBahaha! It's brutal, right? I taught Latin at the University of Arizona while I was getting my Masters degree, and I really enjoyed the experience. Taking Latin exams, on the other hand, is not my cup of tea!
Deleteyou look lovely! Love the photo shoot :D
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with exam studying!
Thank you on both counts!
DeleteThat is really nice of you to help out a former student. Coming from a students perspective, I always respected and admired teachers who did that for me!
ReplyDeleteThank you for saying that. It only reinforces the sense that I did the right thing. I know I always appreciate professors who make time for me, but I can sometimes be a Scrooge about donating my own time. Reminders from people like you help me remember both sides!
Delete