It’s been a tough couple of weeks to get myself up and ready for tomorrow. My wife’s loss of two uncles, trips all over the countryside, and work time lost for various reasons. My recent Facebook post said: Irritated. Nothing more. Carry on.

Today, I was not a happy camper. I really needed to get into my room to get stuff done, and was blocked at every turn. To top things off, in the afternoon, I went to a meeting that I really had no business being at as I had nothing to offer. Those are the worst meetings, and I walked away feeling down and really crabby.

I walked into school and stopped by a team member’s classroom to find the teacher who I replaced 18 years ago. His laugh, his passion for kids, and his passion for life are infectious, and while I thought “oh no” realizing I was going to lost more time, I was sucked into the conversation and I walked away feeling better for it.

I’ve dealt with a lot of self-doubt and worry over the last months, both professionally and personally. My attitude has not been real positive, and it’s going to take a while to feel good about this school year. But for that moment in time, I felt like a teacher who could take on the world. We talk about attitude a lot. His attitude in the brief moment in time helped mine.

As we step into our classrooms tomorrow (or if you’ve all ready done so or will soon), be that moment that helps our students know they can do it, that they can talk on the world.

I know I can now.