Lunch

Sometimes it is easy to get so busy, especially at this time of year, we forget to enjoy ourselves.

Today, I got a nice reminder of how much fun my colleagues are.

Normally I eat first lunch (we have three lunch shifts, all during fourth hour).

Because of my student teacher, I can relax and eat a little slower.

I can also go visit with the six or so teachers in my department who have second lunch.

I maybe haven't done that often enough.

For some reason, today I felt like I wanted to join their lunch.

And they have such fun.

There is very little teacher speak. Instead, they tell stories about their kids or chat about other things.

Sometimes they share anecdotes about a student or event.

I am sure they occasionally vent about home or work frustrations.

It is a good way to take care of themselves and each other.

It is clearly a relaxed and positive atmosphere. 

We can always take better care of our  students when we first take better care of ourselves.

I enjoyed interloping on their lunch. And I enjoyed seeing how naturally they have made the routine of eating, relaxing, laughing, and supporting each other.

We should all be so lucky. We should all work at being so lucky.

Because a collegial environment is a very good thing. It makes it so much easier to cope with the challenges of successfully ending a school year.