Grandfather clock standing in the hall

Tall and straight up on the wall

Talking to us, telling us the time

One through twelve, he loves to chime

“Ding” goes one, “ding dong” goes two

Then three, four, five, but he’s not through

Six, seven, eight, and then comes nine

Those sleepy eyes say, “It’s bed time”

Ten, eleven, twelve, and then it’s time to start all over again

Author Unknown

These are the lyrics to a lullaby I heard one summer (1992?) while visiting my dad in California. My brother was three and my sister was one, and I vividly remember listening to this song every day at nap time and at bed time that entire summer.

When I returned home, I decided to record a lullaby tape for a little boy at my church who I just absolutely loved, and this was one of the songs I chose to include. I wanted the tape to be perfect, so I recorded each song multiple times. At one point, between “takes” of this particular song, my mom made a comment that the song is depressing as an adult, that that’s all life really boils down to. We count the hours, thus counting the down the day, then we go to bed, just to do it all over again the next day.

I can’t say that I disagree with my mom’s observation, and on a similar note, I find it sad that so many of us spend us so much time counting down and wishing our lives away. We wish away every hour, looking forward to quitting time. We wish away every weekday, looking forward to the weekend. We wish away months, looking forward to our next vacation. We wish away years, looking forward to that next stage in our children’s lives (Of course, I’m no longer speaking for myself, since I don’t have children). “Living in the moment” sounds great, but how many of us actually do it? I don’t; I won’t even pretend.

This sounds like a “kick in the pants” type of blog post, one to get you thinking and motivated to start embracing life, living in the moment, appreciating every second that’s given to you. But it’s not.

What if living in the moment isn’t the only way? What if it isn’t so wrong to have something to look forward to on a daily basis? What if your job isn’t what gets you out of bed in the morning, but what awaits you afterwards is your motivation? Your kids, your workout, time with friends, quiet reading time, your hair appointment, even the quiet drive home. Is that so bad?

Just a thought.

I continued to sing this lullaby for years to the countless children I babysat (as depressing as it may be), always pondering its accurate reflection of life. But however you choose to navigate through it–embracing each moment or looking forward to the next–here’s where I think it would be helpful for us all to rest our focus: “…it’s time to start all over again.”

Regardless of your stance, we can end each day–good or bad–with the knowledge that we have a chance to make tomorrow better…God willing.

Learner, Thinker, Writer: Sharmaine Mitchell serves Trinity School as the Digital Media Communications Manager. @Sharmitchell

Perhaps it was the pollen. I really can’t say, but yesterday afternoon, I was not only in a haze, but I was in a weird mood–irritated, frustrated, maybe a little mad (?), just an all around “leave me alone” kind of mood. And this went for EVERYONE (especially the thousands of people accompanying me on I-285 on my drive home). I wanted nothing more than to get home, work out, and lay on the sofa to watch TV for the rest of the evening…and talk to no one (my poor husband).

I told myself that it would probably be in my best interest to go to bed exceptionally early and just “reboot,” but that didn’t happen. Ironically, I stayed awake to finish the book I referenced in my last post!* Although I only got about 4 ½ hours of sleep, I woke up this morning, determined to go through the day “rebooted,” but that resolve was extinguished before 8 AM.

I’ve felt very overwhelmed lately, and while I knew what tasks lay ahead of me today, there was a moment this morning when I simply panicked at the thought of not being able to complete everything today, which of course would affect the rest of my week!

I literally had to stop, breathe (big thanks to a friend for that reminder), and say to myself, “one thing at a time.” I’ve always been a list-maker and have always exhibited obsessive behavior with regard to completing tasks, and my mother has always said to me, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” So while my tasks list currently spans to June 11, right now, I can only tackle April 10…one step at a time.

*It obviously took a long time for me to finish reading this book, but not because it wasn’t good. When I submitted my review on Good Reads, I noticed that I’m not alone in my feeling that it just seemed to progress slowly in the beginning. Overall, though, the book is GREAT!

Learner, Thinker, Writer: Sharmaine Mitchell serves the Trinity School community as the Digital Media Communications Manager. @sharmitchell

ERB’s, field trips, Spring Break coming! All factors making this an amazingly quiet day for me at Trinity, and I find myself missing the usual energy that I gain from my Wednesdays as a consultant at Trinity. Private practice as a psychologist is very isolating and I look forward to the children running down the halls, visiting classrooms, and meeting with parents and teachers. I casually remarked to Maryellen what a quiet day I was having and she immediately tracked me down to write a column for Flourish. As most know, it is impossible to say no to Maryellen.

I first met Maryellen when she was my son’s fifth grade teacher and his first crush. I have had the opportunity to watch her blossom from classroom teacher to administrator, mentoring and motivating countless students and teachers along the way. Her ability to help others confront issues honestly and with compassion make her one of the best psychologists that I know, with or without a Ph.D.

But Maryellen is one of many Trinity faculty and staff that impact the lives of our students and help them grow into fine young adults. I have had several middle school and high school faculty members from all over the city ask me how Trinity manages to produce graduates that are so poised and self-aware. I celebrate that I and my own son and daughter have been a part of this amazing place. Thanks, Maryellen!

Learner, Thinker, Writer:  Carol Drummond serves the Trinity School community as a consulting psychologist.

I’ve written for projects like this in the past (the3six5 and edu180atl), so it wasn’t a huge deal when I signed up to write for this blog. I didn’t think twice about the date or if I would have something worthwhile to write about. For the other two projects, not much effort went into deciding on a topic.

Today was different. This blog post is the last item on my task list, and I can’t put it off any longer, but I struggled all day with answering the question, “What did I learn today?”

Did I learn about the importance of hugs from children on a day that may not be so great? While both hugs made my day, I learned that years ago.

Did I learn that a workout on the elliptical doesn’t seem so daunting when I know I have an appointment for a massage afterwards? Nope. That’s pretty obvious.

This morning, my co-worker brought a book for me to borrow, and I was a little surprised at how excited I was about reading it. My Type A personality crept in just a little and whispered, “You can’t start it yet. You haven’t finished the book you’re reading.” But my dominant thought was on an upcoming trip I’m taking, and how I will only have to unpack my laptop at the airport security checkpoint, instead of my my laptop and iPad, since I’ll have this book. The thought of this excites me and (somewhat) lessens my feeling of dread about the airport security routine.

After writing that, I was fully prepared to say that what I learned today is that “it’s the little things,” but underneath, what I actually learned is this: “Sometimes it’s enough.”

Receiving this book is certainly not an earth-shattering event, and feeling even more excited about my upcoming trip is not necessarily something everyone wants to know about. I kept telling myself that I needed to think of something “better” to write about, that this wasn’t profound enough. Admittedly, I have an obsessive personality that compels me (often at an unhealthy level) to strive to be the absolute best. Finally, I told myself that this is good enough, that my post doesn’t have to be the best ever. This is what my thoughts kept coming back to when deciding what to write about, and settling on a topic so mundane is a lesson all its own for me. Whatever it is, it doesn’t always have to be phenomenal or extraordinary.

Sometimes it’s enough.

This lesson, I’m sure, is one I will continue to re-learn.

Learner, Thinker, Writer: Sharmaine Mitchell serves the Trinity School community as the Digital Media Communications Manager. @sharmitchell

Welcome to “Flourish,” where faculty and staff members of the Trinity community will gather to share what we’ve learned. The writing does not need to reflect something learned at school.