The Dichotomies of Spring

April 1, 2023

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I love Spring. Always have.

It probably has something to do with the fact that my birthday is in April, and, as a child, one’s birthday month (that’s right–we deal with birthday MONTHs in my family) was always a time to cherish. For me, it was full of hope, anticipation, opportunity.

Even without that, I love Spring. The smell of rain. The sight of fresh buds on trees. The daffodils and tulips poking their little heads up. The grass starting to turn green. And, in the midwest, the thought of severe thunderstorms, including tornadoes.

The respite from the cold, bitter winter is quite helpful–even if it typically comes with lots and lots of wind. (As an aside, I’ve heard it said that, in the midwest, if the wind stopped blowing we’d all fall over…)

Seasons of Change

In education, we have times of ups and downs throughout the course of the year. Cycles that are fairly predictable in how we will feel based on what’s been happening, currently going on, and our expectations for the future.

Spring seems to be an interesting dichotomy, though. The hopefulness of summer around the corner and the ability for us and our students to get outside and “blow the stink off” at regular intervals is accompanied by added stress, too.

You know what stress I’m talking about: state testing.

Paperwork and protocols. Schedules and security. The entire year seems to come down to a few weeks in April that command more attention on the quality of schools than it probably should. And, yet, here we are.

The tests come, the students will take them and then it will be over. Be confident that you have done your level best to help them understand the material. That’s what you can do at this point.

There are quite likely tweaks that you can make for next year. Reflect on how it goes and plan for a few small changes. Write them down and work with colleagues to set up implementation of these small changes so that next Fall you are ready to go!

Keep Your Head Up

For many reasons, I love Andy Grammer’s work. His tune, Keep Your Head Up, may be helpful. If you haven’t read the lyrics before, I’m posting them here.

May your Spring remind you of the journey you are on. May it bring you rainbows after rain. May it help you drop your worries. And may it help you keep your head up, knowing that you will turn out fine.

I’ve been waiting on a sunset,

Bills on my mindset

I can’t deny they’re getting high

Higher than my income, income’s bread crumbs

I’ve been trying to survive

The glow that sun gets right around sunset helps me to realize

This is just a journey

Drop your worries, you are gonna turn out fine

You turn out fine

Fine, oh, you turn out fine…

(Chorus:)

But, you gotta keep your head up

And you can let your hair down

You gotta keep your head up

And you can let your hair down

I know it’s hard, know it’s hard to remember sometimes

But, you gotta keep your head up

And you can let your hair down

I got my hands in my pockets kicking these rocks

It’s kinda hard to watch this life go by

I’m buying into skeptics

Skeptics mess with the confidence in my eyes

I’m seeing all the angles thoughts get tangled

I start to compromise my life and my purpose

Is it all worth it? Am I gonna turn out fine?

Oh oh, you turn out fine

Fine, oh oh you turn out fine

(chorus)

Only rainbows after rain

The sun will always come again and

It’s a circle, circling around again

It comes around again

I said only rainbows after rain

The sun will always come again

It’s a circle, circling around again

It comes around

Questions for Reflection

What parts of Spring do you enjoy? Why?

How might you bring those joys to ease the stressors of this time of year?

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” ― Anne Bradstreet, The Works of Anne Bradstreet

Rib Review

A friend recently texted me to let me know I should slow down on eating barbecue.

It got me thinking…should I? My gut reaction is nooooooooo!!

What say you?

In the meantime, I had some great ribs at Cornbred BBQ in Ames, Iowa (yep–that’s where I live!). The flavor was such that they didn’t need sauce, but the sweet sauce that was on it was quite good. The sauces on the table were too vinegary for my taste. Oddly enough, their kale salad was quite the star on the table!

I also had HEB True Texas BBQ in Midland, Texas. I’ve had their ribs before and they were alright, so this time dug in to some brisket. While I’m generally not a brisket fan, this was amazing! Tender and juicy with incredible flavor. No sauce needed.