Let Me Tell You A Secret...

"Out of 7 billion people and thousands of collected years of recorded human history, none of us are facing a particular adversity that’s completely unique. Keep perspective — other people have gone through what you’re going through and can help you. Also, remember that you’ve survived hardship before and you’ve come out okay."

 - Brendon Burchard

 Lately, I have been posting more about my struggles and to my surprise, I have found that I am not alone.  The more I share, the more I realize that what I am experiencing is completely normal.  Regardless of how I feel, I am not alone in my struggles.  Being a teacher is hard.  Being a wife is hard.  Being a mom is hard.  Being an adult is hard.

EVERYONE struggles and chances are they are or have or will struggle with the same issues.  Some people make life look easy and it seems like they have it all together, but I have learned that some people are just better at hiding it.  Don't let people fool you.  No one has it all figured out and no one is immune to challenges.  

The biggest secret of life is that everyone else is struggling too.

The Next 365

As the New Year approaches, I have been reflecting on the last 365 days.  Each year brings changes, great memories and sadness.  There are great accomplishments and tough challenges.  As I grow older, I am realizing the importance of learning and growing every year.  2016 gave me many opportunities to learn and grow.  My hope is that I am able to take advantage of each of these opportunities to learn and grow.

My Biggest Lessons from 2016

• Relationships are #1!
• Being an adult/teacher/wife/mom/person is hard sometimes.
• Life gives me multitudes to be thankful for and I need to spend more energy thinking about the positives instead of the challenges.
• Comparing my life to others steals joy from my life.
• Reading is a great gift.
• Children are hilarious.
• Enjoy the moment.

I am thankful for the lessons I have learned during 2016 and I look forward to 2017.  Each day is a chance to enjoy the moment and to learn and grow.

Happy New Year!

4 Years of Blogging: Top Posts

The end of 2016 marks four years since I began my blogging journey.  In honor of the last four years, I have put together a list of the top four posts from 2016 and the Most Popular posts since I have been blogging.

Four Most Popular
Composer of the Month

Incredibox Lesson Plans

Recorder Karate 2013

Idea Bandit

Top Four from 2016
Kindergarten Concert 2016

Do We Realize

5:1

Emergency Sub Plans

You Look Happy

Weeks ago, before church I had a few minutes before we had to leave so I picked up my phone to check Facebook. I had five alerts so I quickly skimmed through them and noticed someone had commented on a photo. Earlier in the morning I had changed my profile and cover photos. My marriage is the second most important relationship (behind God) and I decided my profile picture should show this relationship. My girls are also very important to me so I changed my cover photo to a picture of them and my profile picture is a picture of my husband and I.

Someone commented that we look so happy.  A completely innocent comment that made me upset.  How dare they tell me how to feel.  I realize now how silly my reaction was, but in the moment it really bothered me.  I did not feel happy and I did not appreciate someone telling me that I should be happy.  This comment made me realize how much we hide from others.  We give the illusion that we are happy.  On the outside everything looks great, but on the inside we are far from great.

In someways this is good.  Being able to "hide" some of your emotions can be very helpful. In other ways it can be a detriment.  Regardless of what "everyone" sees, it is vital that I have people close to me that I can share how I really feel.  People I can turn to for help when the trenches get a little too deep.  We all need these people.

What we see on the outside does not always match what is happening on the inside. Just another reminder that relationships matter.  Don't judge a book by it's cover.

One Word: 2017

'One Word' seems to be the new way of doing New Year's Resolutions.  The past two years, I have tried to pick a 'One Word' with the hope sit would help me focus my life and energy to make the most out of the next year.  After a few weeks, I tend to get overwhelmed with life and forget about my 'One Word' altogether.  This year I am going to take the opportunity that a new year brings to refocus my life and energy in a positive direction.

2016 has been a challenge at times.  Life is challenging at times.  Being an adult is challenging at times.  Two young kids, a husband, a job, a house and all of the responsibilities that come with each of these can feel overwhelming at times.  As I look back over this year I realize that many of my feelings of anger and frustration are caused by the same issues and most of these issues boil down to me not having enough time for me.  I know this is a common struggle for many moms and it is completely normal, but I still want to try to make things better and easier.

It may sound selfish and I don't mean to take it to an extreme, but my 'One Word' for 2017 is Me.  I have a wonderful family, but at the end of the day I am responsible for taking care of myself.  When I am tired and cranky, I am not the best mom, wife, friend or person I can be.  Now, this does not mean that I am going to forget about those around me and only think about myself. It means that I am going to think about filling my cup.  Often I become too worried about my family that I don't take care of myself as much as I should.

I vow to take care of myself in 2017.  I want to be the best mom/wife/teacher/person that I can be.  I need to make myself a priority (I think this is a struggle for many moms and women in general).  I have created a plan to help take care of all aspects of myself: spiritually, mentally, physically and emotionally.  I know my plan will need to be adjusted at times, but I am hoping it is a realistic plan that meets my needs and goals.

Spiritually:  Start the day with a Bible Study (YouVersion Bible App).  End the day with the daily readings from THE BIBLE in a year (YouVersion Bible App).

Mentally:  Take time each week to do something for me.  Listen to audio books during my commute, listen to podcasts/music while I workout, read a book for fun, take a nap, soak my feet or take a bath.  Play music and learn at least one new song a month.

Physically:  Run or walk 2017 miles in 2017.  I thought about doing this challenge in years past, but it always seemed overwhelming.  I am going to walk and run and hope to have my husband join in on the challenge.  5.5 miles a day will be a challenge, but I believe many positives will come from my time working out. We have a treadmill that I want to use more and I want to make walking a priority.  Fresh air is good for me and it is good for my kids.  I am not signing up for the challenge, but I am going to keep track of my miles on my own.

Emotionally:  I am going to be intentional about feeding the positive dog (Positive Dog by Jon Gordan).  I am going to journal daily and keep a gratitude list.  I will continue to work on my Mental Toughness.  I will treat people well, be thankful and have a positive attitude regardless of my situation (Train 2B Clutch).

One of the biggest lessons I learned during 2016 is that being positive and energetic is not always easy or automatic.  It takes effort to look past the negatives and to focus on the positives in life.  It takes effort to have energy everyday and to stay focused on treating people well, being thankful and having a positive attitude.  Even people who look like they have it all figured out have to work at it everyday.  Being positive is a constant choice.