Secret to Success and other general observations

I am the mother of two girls. I am constantly flirting with the line of consistency and tweaking my parenting style to mold them into the best human beings ever. I know, my expectations are high. But they are seriously amazing kids. Recently, they were talking with daddy and my oldest told him that I work too much - that I am always working. This was hard to hear. I work from home and so does my hubs and we self school with Epic. The kids are literally with us all the time. She has noticed that I am on my computer a lot and to her that looks like I am working.

Well, I am on my computer a lot. Much is work, but some, even though technically Epic will benefit from, is play. I have come to realize that I feel like I have done it in life. Sure, I have those days and sometimes even those weeks where going back to teaching feels like the best option in the world, I mean I loved it. I have come to realize lately that admin is just a different game. I thought I was playing the same game initially. And in hindsight, last year I was running myself ragged. But I feel like I am hitting my stride this year.


I am listening to a book for a class I am in, Mojo, by Marshall Goldsmith. Now, I am not at this point recommending you go out and buy it. I only just got started. I am not a big fan of self helpy-motivational speech type books. This one is reading like that so far. The big takeaway for the day however is that the guys says in a prettied up version what I have been describing to my family that I do. He says, if you ask 100 successful executives and CEOs what success looks like, they will say that is working while simultaneously doing something you love. DUH, no big surprise, other than I did realize that this is me. I do work. I work a LOT, but I really do love what I do. I love getting to tell people what I do. I love getting to help others find their own niche that makes teaching or leading, something they absolutely love.

I decided that after hearing this today and realizing that by that definition, I am a successful person, that I was no longer working too much. No, now I am modeling successful behavior. She needs to see her mom being a successful working woman so that she will recognize it in herself someday. Maybe she won't have to read the cheesy book to get to that idea.

Now, I realize I may have ruined my daughter to LIFE while trying my hardest to create the best environment for her in which to learn. I don't mean to brag here, but I have already told you I am a success, so why not push my reader limits in their gag reflex, I have pieced together an amazing social science experiment here on Hickory Hill Rd. My kids as well as a butifully orcestrated and thought out group of other individuals that are now Travis's student have the most amazing and complex dynamic, that presents itself as simple. I will go into the make up of how things work here at my house with the students another day, but for now, my girls see daddy home all day...mommy, is home all day...get it, neither of us leave the house to go to work an 8-5 job. That is not the way most people get to live. I guess we will just have to try hard to explain this to them as the kids grow up.