Thoughts from a morning bike ride ...
Well, here it is more than a year since my last blog post. It's not that I didn't think about writing and sharing a post. In fact, I have so many ideas from the last year I just might need to play catch up. In a nutshell, I accepted a job in May 2018 as an elementary school principal. So, needless to say, the year was full of learning, adventures, building new relationships, more learning, exhaustion and excitement. It was a great first year and I have so much to share!
But I'm going to save those ideas for another blog or two. Today I want to share some thoughts from my bike ride this morning. You see, this is really the first day I haven't worked or been out of town since school let out on May 17. I wasn't travelling and I didn't go into the office. I spent time taking care of ME and boy, did that feel good! While I was riding bike, I encountered several people who were also riding bike, or walking. Every time I met someone, I acknowledged them with a "good morning" or "hello." What I noticed is that very few shared a greeting in return.
Yes, some of them had ear buds in or head phones on, but the majority of them did not. It ended up being almost a mini experiment as I continued on my ride: how many people would greet me? I started to pay attention to age and gender, but there didn't seem to be a pattern. It really made me wonder: What is wrong with people? Or, maybe more accurately, what is wrong with me? Am I the crazy one greeting people I meet and thinking maybe, just maybe, someone will respond? I don't expect a response, but I sure feel like it's a win when I get one!
I guess as an educator, I understand the importance of noticing and acknowledging students and staff. Standing in the hall and saying good morning as students enter the building is a highlight of my day! When I started doing that last fall, I think the students were caught off guard. I actually had to explain that the polite thing to do when someone says "good morning" is to respond. They weren't intentionally being rude or disrespectful ... they were in a new situation and needed guidance. Some students caught on right away, while it took others a little longer. Maybe they are like me, and not really a morning person. But I've learned that if I'm cheerful and I fake it til I make it, mornings really can be enjoyable. The more I say "good morning" to people, the more I feel like it really is a good morning.
Maybe the walkers and riders I encountered this morning had a lot on their mind, or maybe they were tired or stressed out. Or maybe they didn't know how to respond to a stranger acknowledging them on the path. Or maybe they didn't hear me. Whatever the reason, I'm not going to stop doing it. And I will consider it a win when someone I meet does acknowledge my greeting.
But I'm going to save those ideas for another blog or two. Today I want to share some thoughts from my bike ride this morning. You see, this is really the first day I haven't worked or been out of town since school let out on May 17. I wasn't travelling and I didn't go into the office. I spent time taking care of ME and boy, did that feel good! While I was riding bike, I encountered several people who were also riding bike, or walking. Every time I met someone, I acknowledged them with a "good morning" or "hello." What I noticed is that very few shared a greeting in return.
Yes, some of them had ear buds in or head phones on, but the majority of them did not. It ended up being almost a mini experiment as I continued on my ride: how many people would greet me? I started to pay attention to age and gender, but there didn't seem to be a pattern. It really made me wonder: What is wrong with people? Or, maybe more accurately, what is wrong with me? Am I the crazy one greeting people I meet and thinking maybe, just maybe, someone will respond? I don't expect a response, but I sure feel like it's a win when I get one!
I guess as an educator, I understand the importance of noticing and acknowledging students and staff. Standing in the hall and saying good morning as students enter the building is a highlight of my day! When I started doing that last fall, I think the students were caught off guard. I actually had to explain that the polite thing to do when someone says "good morning" is to respond. They weren't intentionally being rude or disrespectful ... they were in a new situation and needed guidance. Some students caught on right away, while it took others a little longer. Maybe they are like me, and not really a morning person. But I've learned that if I'm cheerful and I fake it til I make it, mornings really can be enjoyable. The more I say "good morning" to people, the more I feel like it really is a good morning.
Maybe the walkers and riders I encountered this morning had a lot on their mind, or maybe they were tired or stressed out. Or maybe they didn't know how to respond to a stranger acknowledging them on the path. Or maybe they didn't hear me. Whatever the reason, I'm not going to stop doing it. And I will consider it a win when someone I meet does acknowledge my greeting.
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