Last Monday was a killer Monday for me.  I woke up with a severe pain in my foot (plantar fasciitis), and my car broken down on the way to work (alternator).  I could have walked to work from where my car broke down, but my foot hurt so bad I could not walk. Once I got to work, everything seemed off and felt wrong.  Our admin meeting started late, and I was rushing to get everything together. Thankfully, ILT meeting was okay, and only one teacher noticed that I brought the wrong handout with me.   Alas, the entire day was just frustrating, expensive, and exhausting. I ended up leaving work after ILT at 3 PM, which I never do, to go and get my car that was towed to the repair shop we use.  Since I was leaving work early, I decided to call and see if my doc could do anything for the pain in my foot. I ended up being able to collect my car, burn through our emergency fund, deal with some other stuff, AND get a cortisone shot for my foot because I left work “early” for me. 

The next day, I woke up feeling so much better, and I had a great Tuesday.  My foot was better, my attitude was better, and I was in a completely better mental and emotional space.  This reminded me of two things: 1. Mondays happen to all of us, and 2. Sometimes the best thing to do is to retreat and regroup.  My Monday experience left me reeling, and I could have tried to double-down on my ”work” issues and power through. However, I ended up taking time to take care of my personal issues and get myself back on track.  The investment into myself was well worth it, and it reminded me that we all have to take care of ourselves in order to be our best selves and help others.  

My experience reminded me of the pre-flight safety spiel that is standard on every flight about putting your oxygen mask on first in the event of cabin pressure dropping. But have you ever wondered why flight attendants are so careful to hammer this information into our brain (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUfF2MTnqAw&feature=youtu.be )?

It is because you are not able to help anyone if you die either literally or figuratively. Therefore, I hope you find some time this week to take care of yourself and invest into yourself because I am thankful for our entire your community.