2025 - R&R: Reflect & Reset

Rest is so important and resting without sleeping is probably just as critical as sleep. It’s then, that I get my best ideas, feel the most optimistic and begin to gather the energy to do the impending work that haunts me if I feel drained and overworked. I’m not sure what 2025 holds for me, but wearing myself out like I have these past 5 months is not in the plan. The snowball effect of unexpected work  really made me feel like I was drowning! I need a vision for success this year that gives me space to breathe where I don’t lose myself in this role of “teacher.”

I’ve had entire days here where I didn’t think at all about school or teaching! It’s been a blessing. And then when I do think about it I’m not totally disgusted. I have a lot to weigh and consider this month about the way I want to do things differently and what is possible for me going forward. I miss creative work for sure and have felt like teaching has been an exercise in administrative work and compensating for  lack of planning of the previous and current teachers and lack of clarity and resources from the county. Accountability without guidance is a terrible place to be. I got dealt a bad hand in some ways but I’m going to focus now on the positives and try to spot the good cards in my hand and how I can use those things to put down some cards and pick up others to form the hand that I actually need. 

I met a young guy today, just out of high school who is a music teacher and wants to pursue mechanical engineering. He was so positive and wants to encourage others to use their musical gift. He’s even written a beginner’s piano book! Meeting people who are still motivated to teach definitely inspires me!

Being on this break has allowed me to hit the reset button and recalibrate. I need to set boundaries that allow me to do creative things that I love. Though reading novels isn’t creative per se, it allows me to slow down to imagine characters and settings which puts me in a creative headspace. It seems like reading (novels specifically) stimulates creative juices. While here I’ve been reading a book called “Ordinary Grace” about a family in 1961 Minnesota that endure several tragedies and grapple with faith throughout. I spent at least two hours today in the hammock reading. 

Me and the dog lounging under the house.

A few times here the concept of the “American life” has come up. And how people change when they go to the states. People immigrate for opportunities for work, a better life, and access to those opportunities and other amenities at their fingertips. For instance, within five minutes we had two incidents New Year’s Day where a cord burned on a major appliance and a tire punctured while parking a car. Options for fixing, repairing and trained technicians are fewer here which means that (if DIY is not possible) these probably won’t be a quick fix. And inversely the potential for outages, breaks and punctures is higher here than in America!

But on the flip side, American culture is certainly focused around work and capitalism and a feeling that you must keep going …always. I’ve been thinking that entrepreneurship is a way out of this way of life as long as you have a viable business that pays your bills and allows you to work at your own pace, save / invest and set your schedule. I want a lifestyle that gives me flexibility and ability to be good company and a good host to visitors. Being exhausted just doesn’t allow for that. But I’m determined to find a way! Here’s to 2025!