Facing fear

This month at Christie we are focusing on what it means to have a growth-mindset.  Stretching ourselves beyond our limits.   Believing nothing is out of our grasp.  We love learning!  We love challenges!

A year ago (almost exactly) I was going through a personal time of pushing my limits.  For me, this seems to be the norm more than the exception.  I feel as though the majority of my adult life has been spent adapting and reinventing myself.

One thing that has held true since I was 5 years old is my fear of heights. When I was a classroom teacher, I was rarely on playground duty.  It made me sweat to watch the kids climb on the playground equipment. What if they fell??   I was always assigned to the soccer field.

We live in a 2 story home.  You will never see me leaning over the railing to say something to my family downstairs.

I have a death grip on the railing of an "up" escalator.

I can't watch my husband climb a ladder.

You'll never catch me on a high diving board.

I don't want to be on a ski lift.

I. Don't. Do. Heights.

Enter "iFly".  The indoor skydiving experience in Frisco.

I was determined to face my fears.

I went with my husband for his birthday and decided I would go into the tube of 100+ mph winds and "fly".  What you can't see from videos of iFly is how the floor of the tube is nothing but basically a chain link fence.  You're 2 stories up and when you look down, you can see that you're 2 stories up.

 Not ok.

When I did the iFly introductory course with my husband, he let our instructor know how scared I was.  And our instructor was not surprised.  Apparently my ashen face gave me away.
 
I've attached the video of my iFly experience.  Falling into the tube as instructed and trusting this relative stranger to catch me.  Then he "flew" me.  Took me up in the tube where I didn't want to go.  And made me walk on the floor where I didn't want to walk.

When you watch this video, it'll look like I'm smiling.  I'm not. That's the side effect of 100 mph winds flapping your cheeks back. You look happy, even when you're scared.

On the flip side, when you watch me walk, it will look like I "messed" my pants.  I didn't.  It's just hard to stand up straight in 100 mph winds.

Watch til the end.

When I'm back on solid ground and so proud that I was pushed beyond what I thought was possible.  And hugged the jerk  the instructor who pushed me and the jerk my husband who told him to do it.

It's pure joy!

I have a new appreciation for believing in being limitless.  For staring at deeply rooted fears and seeing them as mindsets to be pushed past.

May we all aspire to push ourselves and believe that anything is possible, regardless of our age.

New Year, New Beginning

I LOVE the New Year!  I love the idea of a fresh start.

Anything is possible in 2016.  Write your own ticket.  Plan your own destiny.

But we all know that's not the way real life works. 

Goals, dreams, and aspirations are sometimes met with victory and sometimes with disappointment.

Mr.Steele asked everyone on staff to pick one word that epitomizes what we claim for ourselves over the course of 2016.  Whether as a teacher, parent, spouse, friend... whatever.... pick a word.

My initial thought was "balance".  I need to find the balance between work and home.  Faith and work ethic.  Trusting and making things happen.

Then I thought, well maybe I should go with "appreciation".  I need to recognize what I've been given and opportunities I've been afforded and simply be grateful.

Then I thought more and more about 2016 and all of the things that are in store for me.  I even prayed about the word I should settle in on... and my word is FEARLESS.

I want to be fearless in 2016. I want to trust the people around me and trust myself.  I want to be reminded that God has a plan for me and He will not abandon the works of His hands.

To be without insecurity and rest in truth.

What's your word for 2016?

Happy New Year!!

#oneword2016

Servant Leadership

I am enjoying the break this week as we reflect on all of the things we have been blessed with and give thanks to the One who has blessed us. 

I have so much for which to be grateful. Near the top of the list is the opportunity to follow my calling and be a counselor at Christie.

Just before coming to Christie I was in an administrative role at a preschool and learned a lot there. It was my first job as the person in charge, and I was nervous about whether or not I had the ability to lead. My dad told me that if I'm a servant leader, people will follow.

Servant leadership.  Always be part of the team.  Be willing to sweat. To work.  To roll up your sleeves and help.

At the preschool, I picked up trash, cleaned up vomit, and changed diapers.  Never "too good" to do what needed to be done.

My dad has his Master's in Business Administration.  He has been the CEO of several hospitals, most recently Medical Center of Plano until his retirement several years ago.  I've seen the weight of responsibility that comes with running a large business.  I watched him cheer on the employees in the trenches while he shouldered complaints and pressure to improve stats and meet unrealistic budget expectations.  There's a lot of pressure on you when you're at the top.

But every holiday season-- either on Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve-- my dad would serve all of the night shift staff Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

One year I tagged along.  It was 11:00 PM, and he would serve them, calling them by name.  I remember the look of appreciation on their faces that the man in charge- the one they rarely saw because they worked the night shift- would take time away from his family and his sleep on a holiday to feed them, hug them, and thank them.

That's leadership. 

It's relational.

It's sacrificial.

And this Thanksgiving, I'm reminded how grateful I am to have grown up around a great leader, to have learned firsthand how hard it is to be one, and to now work for one.

Turning our backs on drugs - Red Ribbon Week

Focus on RESILIENCE

This month we are talking about being resilient.

Never giving up.

(And I've had the chorus to Aaliyah's song "Try Again" stuck in my head. Does anyone else remember that song?)

.............

Several years ago I became a runner.  It started out as something I did because my then-boyfriend was a runner, and I used to be that girl that pretended to have the same interests as the guys I dated. Ridiculous.  But, somehow, running stuck.

Because I'm usually surrounded by people, I like being alone on a run.  I don't want to talk.  I turn my music on and escape.

And I like racing, knowing that my finishing time is mine.  Mine to take full credit or full blame.  I put the training time in and I can see the fruits of my labor.

In 2008, I decided to run a marathon.  A lot of my friends were less than supportive.

"You have no time to train with 2 kids."  "Why would you want to do that?" "That doesn't even sound like fun." And every time I woke up so sore I could hardly move pushed me harder to prove that I could finish a marathon.

"You can't do that" is one of the most motivating lines I've ever heard. 

I committed to the race and signed up for the Rock -N- Roll Marathon in San Antonio. 

About 6 weeks before the race, we were SHOCKED to find out that we were expecting surprise baby #3.

Now, I don't know whether you've trained for a marathon before, but the number of hours and 100+ miles of training you put in to be able to run 26 miles on race day is CRAZY.  I was invested in this race... and I am stubborn have an unwavering commitment to my plans!

So I checked with my doctor and decided to run the race, pregnant.

Here's the other part to running, non-runners:  Running (like most sports) is even more of a mental game than it is a physical game.  Mind over matter.  Your body says "Stop!", and you tell it to keep going.  You ignore every pain, every cramp, and put one foot in front of the other because eventually you WILL make it to the finish line.

Never give up.

Throwing a pregnancy into the mix destroyed my mental game.  It makes it impossible to ignore every pain and every cramp.

Not to mention that I had done my training in Plano, not in the Hill Country.  Wow! I learned quickly that "scenic, flat, and fast" is the way race promoters sell all race venues, whether it's accurate or not.

There's a point in a marathon where the half-marathoners turn and the full-marathoners run straight ahead.  I can not tell you how desperately I wanted to turn.  But I didn't want to give up.

There were times I walked, times I sat, times I wanted to cry... what have I done?...

I finished the marathon that day.  It took me 6 hrs and 24 minutes.  I finished with runners who were injured. Ha! Far from my best day.

But there's something great about coming to the end of your strength and pushing a little bit further!  I learned that day that I'm tenacious.  That I can cheer myself on, pick myself up, and keep moving.

Being resilient is incredibly important because things are not always going to go your way. Life will throw curveballs.  And you're not always going to have a team of people surrounding you to motivate you to take the next step. 

When you see your kids persevering, celebrate that!! And until they have that drive within them, foster it by cheering them on! Encourage them and remind them that nothing is out of reach.

PTA October Newsletter

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  October Newsletter- English


  October Newsletter- Spanish

SHOUT OUT

Ms. Lagos' Second Grade Class has been talking about "paying it forward" with kindness!  One kind act may trigger another... and another... and another.  It's a domino effect!

I decided to build off that momentum and do a guidance lesson on the importance of kindness.  Then some of the kids in her class wrote some acts of kindness they've experienced and some they've shown.

This is the first SHOUT OUT on the board.  But my goal is to feature every class in K-2 this year.... because our youngest Christie Cubs are some of our strongest leaders!! :) 

And I'm not biased at all.... ;)


Way to go, Ms. Lagos' class!!