Seasonal changes

     It has only been two days, but Dave and I are missing our sweet Kirby and feisty L.C. Why?  We are on a week-long trip in Maine and New Hampshire to see the fall foliage.  We are loving the beautiful colors that are so foreign to us in Tucson, Arizona.  But just this past week, as we were playing golf in Tucson, we discussed how incredible Tucson is.  No matter the season, there are always changes in the desert colors. Different plants and flowers bloom different times of the year, making the desert not at all what I originally pictured before we moved there 8 years ago.  But as we make our way along narrow roads through small, picturesque towns in the Northeast (that were established around the 1700s, by the way), we notice the myriad of colors that are all along the scenic byways.  At the store, yesterday, we found some very thin, almond-praline cookies that may, indeed, make me have to run a few more miles next week.  We notice the seasonal fall decorations so many people have around and on their houses and barns, the pumpkin patches and mazes we pass, and the beauty of the green golf courses (Dave has radar for those, by the way) contrasting with the red, orange and yellow leaves on the trees.  
     The last couple of weeks has brought other changes and endings to seasons: the loss of our dear Rudy girl, and the loss of our dear friend, Dan Brown, a fighter pilot and commercial pilot who worked with Dave in Florida and whose wife, Mary, was the very first person I hired after becoming a principal at Edge Elementary in Niceville, FL (an amazingly smart hire, if I do say so, myself).  The loss of Dan is going to leave a tremendous hole in Mary and their sons' worlds for sure but also for all of us who knew him as an easy-going, supportive force in so many lives.  I wholeheartedly believe people come into our lives for a reason, but I think we sometimes miss the Godwinks that are just right in our face if we are simply "present" enough to notice.  Danno, you will be missed by many!  
     The new season of oh-so-many changes in the way school looks is complicated and multi-faceted, at best.  But you know what I see in my own graduate students who are teachers preparing to become educational leaders and in my student teachers whom I supervise?  They are taking in this new reality and not just being pulled along by the weight of the change, but instead are inspired to try new things (in person or via online teaching).  There are websites popping up right and left, allowing teachers to use digital tools they might never have used prior to March of this year.  I am checking out as many as I can in my use in the webinars I teach and in my work as a professor for students at Trinity University who are likely going to become teachers in the next couple of years.  I tell my students they are my guinea pigs for trying out new digital tools, and they seem to be loving it.  I'm even having my Grand Canyon University graduate students come to a webinar in which we share a digital tool (with the possibility of taking away 18 more).  The changes COVID-19 have brought to our world are not just seasonal, we suspect, but will make history in terms of the way we socialize, work, worship, and live.  
      What if we are able to look at the changes the season brings us as opportunities to live, learn, and love even more?  What are the opportunities the season is bringing to you? I pray blessings for you and your family and would love to hear from you.  
I'm also hosting a webinar on how, particularly in times of remote learning, relationships are so very necessary before beginning to work on content rigor.  I'd love to see some of you join!  
It's called Building Relationships Before Rigor. Check it out! 
    Happy fall, y'all!  (just a little shout out for my Texas and other southern peeps)!

Happy Communicating,

​Shelly