My life back...who knew?

I have really enjoyed being a building principal (at all levels, ultimately, high school, middle school, and elementary school) these past eleven years.  I've made a difference in students' lives, made a difference in teachers' professional practice, and formed many positive relationships along the way.  It was rewarding on many levels.  I look forward to more of that, perhaps at a higher leadership level, in the future.

Right now, though, I'm just getting started on my year's hiatus.  I'm just getting started at letting go of the background tension of always being on call, always being where the buck stops, always being, weekends and holidays included, the principal.  I'm starting to notice what I put on hold eleven years ago, "just for now, until things calm down."  Pleasure reading (not that I didn't enjoy reading professional journals and books and so forth--but I didn't have time for a whole lot more).  Quality family time that was not snatched in precious snippets.  Really fully being present, when together with my wife.  Taking care of house and home projects.  Exercising enough.   Mowing my own lawn.  Playing the guitar and singing folk songs, with friends and family, or just alone, just for fun.  Trying my hand at home-brewing a batch of beer.  I hadn't noticed, but I had been systematically back-burnering everything that was non-work-related, for years.

This year, whether I end up with a part-time position, or no position at all, my first focus is going to be on family.  A mentor superintendent once told me my success in the business (of educational leadership) would be defined by my ability to disengage from the work.  While I know that I will always be inclined to give my all, where I work, I'm learning, after eleven years, that I have needed and will need as I move ahead to do a better job at sometimes letting go.

I'm reminded of a story that went around the Internet (I'm not sure about, and haven't been able to find an original attribution; it references a lecture on stress management from a Harvard professor.  I found a version of it here, on Eric Crawford's blog, Eacology).  It's not if the glass is half full or half empty; it's not really how much the glass weighs.  It's how long you hold it.  For a bit, I'll just be setting down my glass.

Though it is self-funded, and not long-term, I'm calling it a sabbatical.