Goal setting

New Beginnings

Categories Family, Goal setting, Happiness, Opportunities, Success, WorkLeave a Comment on New Beginnings

My career as a school counselor began three years ago at Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic School, a small inner city Catholic school in the heart of the Fifth Ward in Houston. It was here that I developed a comprehensive guidance program and built a rapport with my students and their families. I could have never prepared myself for the joy that came from helping others academically, socially, and emotionally. It was a difficult school to walk away from; but when a new opportunity knocked, I answered.

Two years ago, prayerful intentions led me to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School where I continued to grow as a school counselor. With an open heart and an open mind, I found my work incredibly rewarding and very quickly grew to love the faculty, students, and families. My days were brighter because of elementary students’ bright smiles and hugs. My heart was happier because of the joy that came from coaching cheer and track; a position I took very seriously as I suited out for practice just like my athletes and led them in workouts around the track. I challenged myself in many ways professionally- leading accommodations meetings, advocating for students with learning difficulties, and meeting the social and emotional needs of many, including faculty and staff. Professionally, I was happy, fulfilled, and content.

Then on the Friday of my first week back at work, I received a phone call from the Director of Admissions at St. John XXIII College Prepatory High School. They had a school counseling vacancy and expressed interest in having me come by for an interview. I found myself immediately torn. I loved the work I was doing at St. Elizabeth but recognized the tremendous opportunities for growth the new position offered. Despite the conflict I felt, I knew I at least needed to interview for the position because I didn’t want to leave myself carrying around any “what ifs?”. My first interview went well, which led to a callback from the principal, and second interview with him. By midweek, I was offered the position, and knew I had a significant amount of soul searching to do.

After prayerful consideration and several heart-to-heart conversations with my closest family and friends, I decided that this opporunity was too good to pass up. The timing was far from ideal; leaving my current position less than a month into the new year and taking on a new role in a new school later in the game. Nevertheless, I’m eager to embark on this new journey and challenge myself professionally in new ways.

A few weeks ago, my post focused on the adage, “everything happens for a reason.” God put this new opporunity in my lap for a reason. This did not happend by accident. My principal notified the faculty and parents about my new position this afternoon. I’m incredibly grateful for his support and look forward to what the future holds. My last day at St. Elizabeth is this Friday. I will take the next few days to say my goodbyes and prepare for this next phase in my professional life.

So here’s to new beginnings, moving forward, and embracing the adventure that lies ahead. Thank you St. Elizabeth Ann Seton for the tremendous opportunities. You will forever have a place in my heart!

Baby Steps

Categories Family, Goal setting, Success, UncategorizedLeave a Comment on Baby Steps

It feels like it happened overnight, but this long weekend has proven to be a busy one when you have a 10 month old that is literally into everything. Like The Flash, he’s dashing across the floor on all fours zeroing in on the next chair, door, wall, or pair of legs to pull up on. As our baby bear is on the move, the rest of the den are hot on his tail making sure he’s not crawling into a dangerous situation.

Yesterday morning the amount of crawling and pulling up was at an all time high. Sean and I decided it was time to try containing him, at least for a while, so we could knock out some of our usual Sunday to do’s. Inevitably it was time for us to set up the playpen. Sean assembled it behind the couch and lowered Atticus in with a handful of toys. Curiosity kicked in and before we knew it, he was happy as a clam exploring his new space. Before long crawling turned into pulling up and then…

Almost immediately my anxious mom tendencies kicked into high gear as I envisioned my sweet baby boy face planting on our hardwood floor. Very quickly his playpen was moved into the living room and placed on softer ground- the carpet.

His strength, resilience, and inherent curiosity are qualities I deeply admire. I want him to feel empowered in his physical abilities as he takes risks, experiences failures, and ultimately conquers his next challenge- learning to walk. In life, we have to take it one step at a time, and sometimes those steps work best when they are calculated and slow. Here’s to the baby steps that propel all of us forward!

Celebrating our Everyday Successes

Categories Goal setting, SuccessLeave a Comment on Celebrating our Everyday Successes

I recently came across an article on The Zoe Report about the nine things all successful women do on Sundays (http://thezoereport.com/living/work/8-things-successful-women-sunday/#slide-6). The article piqued my curiosity as I scrolled down the page trying to see how I measured up. Up until I stumbled across this piece, I’d always considered myself a success story, but would my world be turned upside down by the end of the article?

Thankfully my world is still in tact, and I feel like my success rate is still well above average. Here’s the lowdown on where I fall on their success scale. My overall score wasn’t 100%, but hey we all have room for improvement, right!

  • Clean- Laundry and straightening is a customary part of most Sundays. Between the boys and my athletic gear, I usually feel like I fold a mountain of socks, sports bras, onsies, undies, and tee shirts. Thank goodness for multi-tasking. I usually knock this chore out when the boys are napping or in quiet time, and I can steal some screen time and catch up on a show.
  • Sober up- Because I drink so little to begin with, I never need a Sunday to sober up. A nice glass of wine on a Sunday afternoon or in the evening with dinner is a nice way to close out the weekend without wishing I had a “Hair of the Dog” to start my Monday off on the right foot.
  • Map out the week- I am an habitual planner; sometimes to a fault. I pull out my Google calendar and review what I have on my plate. I’m typically good at remembering what’s on my schedule, but I always want to be ready for the unexpected wild cards like a doctor’s appointment or an evening event at work.
  • Prep food and wardrobe- Because I do most of my cooking on the weekend, Liam and I survive off of leftovers for the remainder of the week. I usually snag some of these leftovers for lunch too, so I don’t have to sweat the small stuff in the morning when it’s time to zip out the door. I always prep my snacks and lunch the night before too. This also takes a load of pressure off of my morning To Do’s. Prepping my wardrobe was a new one for me. I decided that I would give this one a trial run this last week, and let me just say it was absolutely liberating. I planned my workweek outfits down to the shoes and jewelry, and it made getting ready in the morning a cake walk.
  • Set goals- Goal setting is my middle name. I love the initial chase, and then delight in the victory dance when I’ve straddled the hurdle. This week, my goal was to run five days in a row. I’m an avid runner, so you might be questioning how this is a fair goal on my part. This was my first week back at school with students. I knew every day would bring numerous unexpected surprises that would keep me on my toes all day long. My predictions were more than accurate as I killed my activity goals on my Nike watch every day before I even left the school. I also knew that by the time I got home, I’d be exhausted and would be content just laying in bed watching tv after the boys were fast asleep. This is why I set my goal in the first place, so that I couldn’t use any of that as an excuse. Tonight marks the first night I haven’t run since Sunday. I’m glad I laced up my shoes and forced myself out of the door. Running every night helped me reflect on my day, let go of the stresses I didn’t need to carry over into the next day, and enjoy some beautiful sunsets.
  • Unplug- This is one I could definitely improve on. Admittedly I do enjoy scrolling through Facebook or reading a riveting crime novel on my Kindle app. I do think I try to find balance in my life when it comes to screen time. But in today’s day and age, it’s hard to completely unplug.
  • Get rest- Hmm, whoever wrote this post must not be a mama bear with young children. Rest is hard to come by when they wake up at the crack of dawn and you try to knock out all of your to do’s while they nap. That doesn’t leave a lot of downtime for resting. Maybe I’ll get around to this one when they’re teenagers. A girl can dream, right!
  • Do something unproductive- I’m fairly certain that playing with toys as an adult counts as doing something unproductive. Coloring, stacking blocks, climbing on the playground, and playing with Transformers fit the bill!
  • Bathe- A hot bath, a glass of wine, and a good book are a few of my favorite things. I don’t have the luxury of enjoying these pleasantries every Sunday, but when the opportunity presents itself, I gladly indulge.

your life

Because success is not quantifiable, we don’t always see how productive we are as women, wives, mothers, and professionals. We are all successful in our own right for the countless things we do every day for the people in our lives who rely on us. Keep your head up, keep reaching for the stars, and celebrate your everyday successes. You, Mama Bear, got this!