Papers Vs. People

It's the end of the school year and I am tired. It's hot. My students are picking at each other, the impending separation of summer vacation gnawing at them, causing them to poke (not usually literally) at each other. My colleagues are packing, anticipating moves to new classrooms, and in some cases, new buildings.

It is a season of change, of transition, and for many of us, it is challenging to manage.

Piles of things to do, to pack and to file litter my desk. Caretaking and facilitating are at the heart of my job, and the needs of the people around me supersede those of the papers on my desk.

Papers vs. people - my constant challenge. In terms of appropriate priorities, that would seem to be a no-brainer, and most days, it is. But as deadlines approach and the piles remain untouched, panic begins to set in as I continue to try to be all things to all people.

I know this is impossible at best, self-defeating at worst, but yet I persist because at the end of the day, I would prefer to have failed papers, not people.

It will get done, one way or another. It always does. And then vacation will begin.

Until then, I will cherish these people, or at least try to remain patient with them, and with myself, and hope that nothing important slips through the cracks.

And try not to think about the ratio of things to be done, and days remaining to do them.