Give and Take

The morning...

This morning, I had the privilege of helping out at my district's New Educator Orientation (NEO). It was so exciting to see all of the new teachers and feel the energy in the room! For a little over an hour, our IT team worked with teachers to get them set up on their new Chromebooks and logged in to many of the websites and apps we use regularly.

I left NEO feeling so energized! As I was reflecting on why, I went through a list of reasons in my head. The people piece definitely fed my social side, I enjoyed meeting new people, and I actually didn't find myself feeling that nervous standing up in front of the crowd, which felt like a victory. But more than anything, I really appreciated being able to help someone out. To make someone's day better. To make something easier for someone. To remove a little bit of their stress.

The afternoon...

Fast forward a couple of hours, and I was feeling stressed out with everything that needed to be done to kick off the school year. Our team is launching a number of projects, and I know that all of us are feeling stretched as we try to cover everything. I came into an afternoon meeting sat down, and took a deep breath.

One of my teammates asked me how I was doing, and I shared that I was just feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything. Her immediate response: "What can I do to help?" I felt so encouraged and blessed by her response (especially knowing that we are all so busy right now) - her desire to make my day better. To make something easier for me. To remove a little bit of my stress.

How much better would all of our lives be if we took a moment to put aside our own worries and open our eyes to the world around us? It doesn't take much - just a little gesture to help someone else out can make their day!