12-20-2019

Mary’s Minute

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." 

~ Winnie the Pooh/A.A. Milne

Not to sound like a country music song, but as I think about the passing of time, I have to say, “Don’t blink!”  It feels like just yesterday I was a twenty-one old kindergarten teacher, wearing argyle socks and jumpers, singing loudly in the open-concept wing with my bright eyed students, and the next minute I am fighting tears away as I pack up my office where I have had the privilege of serving as superintendent for seventeen years.  My heart is full of gratitude for all the people I have been so lucky to work with, for all the kindness shown to me and my family, and for being able to make a living doing what I love!  

As I close this chapter of my life, I want to think of it as a series of wonderful memories, more than of the passing of time.  Memories and feelings for which I am forever grateful.  I love the Maya Angelou quote, “People will forget what you said.  People will forget what you did.  But people will never forget how you made them feel.”  Of course I will remember with gratitude many things that people have said and done for me, but most of all I will remember the way Perry Central has made me feel.  

I started writing Mary’s Minute when I became superintendent in 2002, and I have written it every Friday that school was in session since then.  This is the last I will write as superintendent.  (I am thinking of trying to keep it up as a way to continue writing and pushing myself.)  Although I will not be officially connected to Perry Central, I will always be connected at the heart.  I feel so very lucky that saying goodbye is so hard!  I love you all!

                                                                                    Mary

12-13-2019

Mary’s Minute

“Getting even has never healed a single person.”  

                                                                                        ~ Eva Kor 

Fifty years after she was liberated from Auschitz, Eva Kor stood on the platform at the same location and pledged her personal forgiveness to the Nazis and Dr. Mengele for the atrocities to her and her family.  From that point until her recent death Eva Kor spread a message of the power of forgiveness, in addition to remembering the holocaust, and she felt that the act of forgiveness changed her life.

As I listened to Eva’s thoughts on forgiveness that continue to be shared through a foundation created in her name, I remembered something I recently thought.  I said, “People who forget, but do not forgive are bitter.  People who forgive, but do not forgive are at peace.  People who forgive and forget are happy.”  I think my notion may need some work because Eva Kor emphasizes the need to forgive, but not to forget.  My idea was that people who forgive and forget live in a zone of ignorant bliss.  

I think I live my life basically at peace.  I forgive, but I can’t forget.  I really was thinking that if I could both forgive and forget, I could be happier.  I now believe that being at peace -- forgiving, but never forgetting is the surest way to peace, even if there is still some pain.  

This may all sound confusing, but I encourage you to think of an experience or person that has brought you pain.  Then think of forgiveness, as well as the power to totally forget it ever happened.  I think sometimes forgiving and forgetting is the easy answer to finding happiness.  The path to learning and true peace, though, can come from forgiveness, while holding onto the memory. 

                                                                        Have a great week!

                                                                                    Mary

12-6-2019

Mary’s Minute

"All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school."

~ Robert Fulghum

Many of you know, I started my career as a kindergarten teacher and spent several years also teaching preschool. In fact, there are a few teachers at PC who were in my kindergarten or preschool classes. In my mind I go back often to my time with young children, recognizing how much we can learn from our youngest students. Robert Fulghum wrote a cute piece about this idea. Some of the things Fulghum suggests we can learn from kindergarten include: “Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.”

There is an innocence that young children have that we all wish we could hold. Young children find joy in the smallest things and have a natural sense of curiosity that leads them to constant learning. Children skip! Think about this — how often do we as adults have so much physical joy that it comes out as skipping? Young children smile, laugh, and hug freely. Young children dance when they hear music, giggle uncontrollably, and notice small changes.

We know that smiling and laughing are important for mental health. We know that to be physically healthy movement can be a game changer. We use the term “childish” as a negative adjective, but in reality being child-like is what we all should hope to be. Whatever we call it, the older I get the more I realize the importance of emulating children in their joy for life and constant curiosity! And... skipping! Don’t forget to skip!

Have a great week!

Mary