We all have our share of frustrations and perplexities to deal with on any given day. Having the most contentious presidential election in modern history dominating the media doesn't help. But that doesn't mean we have to let these problems define every aspect of our lives.
I've done a few posts before when I've listed ten good things I have going on in life, mostly as a reminder to myself how helpful it can be to acknowledge and appreciate the positives. After our talk in class yesterday, I think it's a good idea for another such list. I don't know if ten will get the job done though, so I'm going to push a little further and come up with twelve:
1. The weather of mid-October. It's sunny and windy with the temperatures staying fairly consistently in the range of the 50s and 60s, which makes this the time of year I can get away with wearing both shorts and sweatshirts, often at the same time. Welcome to my personal meteorological Goldilocks Zone.
2. This week only has four teaching days. Next week only has two. I've got some time to TV binge coming up.
3. On one of those days off next week, I'm taking Nephew #2 on a tour of where I went to college. I don't necessarily expect, or even hope, he'll choose that school -- I want him to find the school that will help him find his own best path -- but this will give me the chance to visit my old campus during the time of year I tend to romanticize the most when I think about my college days.
4. The new albums from Green Day and Alter Bridge are amazing. I've been waiting for them to be released for a long time, and they were both worth the wait.
5. I have two classes this year that I like very much. One of them is even the smallest class size I've worked with in my twenty-five years.
6. I'm going to have the dogs visiting me for a couple of weeks coming up soon.
7. There's a big birthday party for my mother and my aunt this weekend. It will largely be a family event. I don't get to see my aunts and uncles and cousins very often during the school year, so I'm looking forward to it.
8. I've read the first few pages of Bruce Springsteen's new autobiography and I'm looking forward to finishing my current book so I can start it. It reads with the voice I expected it would, and I can't wait to be immersed in that.
9. Seth Meyers is absolutely killing it with his political coverage these days. He is unquestionably the rightful heir to Jon Stewart's vacated late night political humor throne.
10. I had a doctor's appointment last month. It went well.
11. Parent-teacher conferences for the fall are over at our school. Mine went well, and offered some good insights into my students. The worst part of conferences are the long days and the extra work that goes into preparing for them, so I'm glad all of that is over with.
12. As we get closer to winter and the days grow shorter, I'm not having the blazing sun in my eyes every morning on the drive to school.
As I thought my way through this list, I realized I could probably come up with just as many negative points that are bothering me, in different degrees. I'm not going to think about that, though. Today I'm just moving forward and thinking about the positives.
Let's see how it works.
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