It seems we all have a Plan A that we expect from life, expectations that we really want to happen and that we really want to achieve, but sometimes life has other plans and all of a sudden we are living Plan B.
Sometimes Plan B looks similar to Plan A and we adjust readily. Sometimes Plan B feels as meaningful and wanted as Plan Z. Life throws these crazy curve balls at us that we didn't see coming and all of a sudden we feel all we are doing is dodging bad pitches and wildly swinging back in hopes of contacting something that looks like normality.
As I sit here today my heart is heavy for several people in my life dealing with the ugliness of cancer or potential cancer. My heart feels burdened for the families that are living out Plan B that looks a lot like Plan Z...a plan they never would have chosen. It really puts things in perspective a bit for myself.
As I think about the next few weeks and school starting back and the things that are weighing heavily on me I realize how much of life feels like Plan A most of the time if I will just focus on the good and reflect on the positives.
As educators we often find ourselves throwing our hands in the air (mentally) and thinking "Well that didn't work!" or "Will they ever understand that!" or heaven forbid that fleeting thought of "I don't think that student can do this." We find ourselves living in Plan B because just like a reflection of the world we live in, our classroom is messy- its dynamics, its students, its teacher, and the families that are represented all live in an imperfect world. Let's face it, life is messy.
As we start this school year with goals we want to accomplish and new ideas that have been made priorities for us, let us be gracious to remember we are all living in a Plan B world. We all have burdens and barriers that make learning hard and teaching hard. We all work with people who have expectations that impact us as well...chances are their expectations have become Plan B as well, in order to create an environment that works with everyone else's needs.
Life is not perfect but it can be perfectly ok when we allow ourselves to accept Plan B and make the most of it. It means to keep plodding along. It means to remember that co-worker or student you are working with day in and day out that just rubs you the wrong way may actually be living out a Plan Z life right now, be patient and forgiving. It may mean a lesson plan bombs because you just don't feel equipped to do what is being asked of you but you have the ability to fail forward. Learn from the moment and turn that bad situation into something that causes you to grow into a better you. You may have seen your class roster and are already thinking "Oh no, this is going to be a hard group of kids" but rise to the challenge of a Plan B year and prepare yourself to do your best.
My youngest daughter and I went to her college orientation last week and on the way up there Kendall said, "Mom, I'm going to thrive in college." Yes, her word...thrive. I said, "That's good to know!" I love that she is a Plan A kind of thinker. I also know she knows what it's life to feel like life seems unfair because at age 11 she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes...believe me, that August day 7 years ago was a Plan Z feeling day. But she's pushed back, she's living the life she wants to live and she isn't giving in to the alternative plans that were pushed on her.
My challenge to myself and to the other educators out their today is to keep your Plan B days in perspective. This might not be the path you thought you would be going on but it doesn't have to be a bad path, just choose to keep moving forward. We rarely grow when we are comfortable. Be willing to accept, adapt, adopt when need be. We live in a fallen world and we are all impacted by that.
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