Another week and time for another
trip down classic rock music’s Memory Lane. This week’s 60’s and 70’s radio, turntable, cassette,
and 8 track theme is “time.” Whether it
was the Chambers Brothers’ “Time Has Come Today,” The Allman Brothers’ “Ain’t
Wasting Time,” David Bowie’s “Changes,” or Pink Floyd’s “Time,” as the years
have gone by, each has moved me toward reflection. Life's experiences have opened my mind so the messages of their words is much different
today than they were back when I was “dropping the needle.”
My mom died when she was 59
years old. I remember thinking when I turned 58, if
my mom knew she only had one year to live when she was 58, would she have spent
her last year any different than she did?
My dad passed away in 2012. He
was 78. He was the last of his
generation in our family. My
grandparents are gone. All of my aunts
and uncles have passed away. My
immediate family now consists of brothers, sons and my wife Jodi. My extended family is made up of cousins,
nieces, and nephews. You know what that
means. My cousin Brian, as much a friend
growing up as a cousin, laid it out after my dad’s death – we are now at the
front of the line. We are the next
generation that will pass. Never thought
of it that way before. But instead of
dreading it, I thought about the time that remains and how I want to spend it.
What I can tell you is that
since that revelation, I’ve become more protective of time. I’ve taken the Allman Brothers’ words to
heart. That is, “I ain’t wasting time no
more.” Not that I’ve ever been a big “time
waster,” but I’ve come to realize there is so much more I can do. With my family. My friends.
My work team. My professional
network. My community. The students we serve.
Most importantly, I’ve
learned that with time, there is no guarantee – no guarantee of next year, next
month, next week or tomorrow. It’s a
precious commodity. And when we waste
it, time is something we can never get back.
I have only so much time left to do whatever it is I want or am supposed
to accomplish. Only so much time to
serve. Only so much time to love.
So, what does this have to do
with this week’s Director Update? As administrators and educators, we live in a
professional world that is constantly looking ahead. Most likely we are looking forward to the
next school year – planning in-service, finalizing schedules, checking
enrollment, lining up workers and volunteers for events, and so on. Then we’ll look toward that first day of
classes, the first concert, the first athletic events. Before you know it we will have our eyes on
Christmas break, then spring break and ultimately graduation and the end of
another year. We spend so much time
looking ahead, we lose sight of how quickly the days go by. The question is,
what are we going to do with those days?
Will we cross them off the calendar, treating them like a to do list? Or will we resolve to make the most of each
and every one of them? Will we act like our
days are endless or will we realize they could end at any moment?
I’ve heard the question about
whether we’d like to know the exact day our life will be over or prefer to not
know. Although it may seem counter
intuitive, I prefer not to know because the uncertainty motivates me to take
advantage of every minute since it could be my last.
When my time comes, I’d like
to be known as someone who didn’t waste time – not in the sense that I never
relaxed or had fun, but instead that I was intentional about how I spent my
time and who I spent it with. As educators,
we spend our lives teaching and serving.
I’m inspired by so many of you who are so giving, so loving, so
committed to serve, that nothing stands in your way.
As a professional community, let’s show ourselves, each other, and those we serve that we are never satisfied with what we’ve done. It’s all about what’s left to do. We won’t waste time. We won’t cross off our days. We won’t take time for granted. We will make the most of every precious moment. Because every one of those moments can make a difference.
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