Beginnings

I have a confession to make.  I have no idea what I am doing.

That's really nothing new.

What is new, is that I am not letting that stop me.

My journey began a few months ago.  I had been feeling restless, generally dissatisfied with my life without any particular event or situation to blame.  To make myself feel better, I went shopping for shoes.  Not just any shoes.  Highly impractical shoes.  Shoes for going out on the town, which I never do.  Shoes I would never wear to work, never wear to pick up the kids at school.  Shoes with heels so high I was sure to twist my ankle.

That afternoon, I called my mom, who is 81 and, because of arthritis, forced to use a wheelchair or a walker to get around the house.  When I told her about those impractical shoes I had bought, her response took me by surprise:  "Do it while you can."  Those words stuck with me and have become something of my motto.  More than that, it has been my catalyst for change.

Now, instead of telling myself I can't do something, that it is just too hard or impossible or not for me, I repeat my mom's words:  Do it while you can.  I started jogging, in honor of my dad, who at 86 and struggling with emphysema can only dream of running.  I joined Twitter and have engaged in conversations with brilliant authors and educators across the country who have inspired me to take risks and become the educator I believe I can be.  Now is the time.  It may be the only time, for we never know when the time will come when it will be too late.

So, here I am, starting a blog not knowing what I am doing or where this journey I seem to have embarked on will take me.  And I am surprisingly okay with that.  I'm just going to keep doing it while I can.