Well, we are living in the long late season of summer, the beginning of football, and days that can range from a high of 98 degrees to those treasured few with highs in the low 80’s. Believe it or not we are less than eight weeks away from Halloween, then Thanksgiving, and Christmas. What have you accomplished this year that you want to hang on to? What do you want to discard? Life has thrown us all a variety of things- some designed to make us stronger, some to challenge the human spirit and some to make us smile from the inside out.
People walk by in the halls of classrooms, grocery store aisles and sidewalks going into events or restaurants and there is often a “Hello, how are you?” exchanged. That is all it is- when do we start worrying about how someone feels and what is going on with them? When do they start worrying about us? I am getting a bit analytical in my later years. It seems like yesterday I was a college student myself, not a care in the world except what party or what game was going on and what practice- and of course, the dating world. It is an invincible almost mind-boggling stage but something everyone gets to experience, if they are lucky.
The ones that seem to change the most right now are the kids- yes, children’s kids are the ones about which I am talking about. I look at my own grandchildren and it seems like if a month passes, they have grown or matured. Look at the people in your classes (if you teach, like me) and see the change from the beginning of a semester to the close. Even the classroom dynamics change as what begins as a quiet space and people looking sideways at each other transforms into a chatty group, some new friendships formed and hopefully some intellectual growth (for the professors as well) and personal revelations. As for myself, I try to make them all feel safe and comfortable, it is their classroom as much as mine- without them I would not even be here. This is true of life- without each other we would not even be here.
So, walk into this season of fall and football and take a moment to savor the sights, the smells, the ups and downs of weather in the south, and your own feelings. Put yourself first in a day to be able to take care of others in the ways they deserve. Sit a bit longer, don’t check that watch as much, wave at the nuts tail-gating the car as you make your way to that final destination. Enjoy.