BALANCE

Last entry I shared a bit about shaking hands with the other side while I was in the hospital last winter. This time I want to speak with you about balance. Balance in life, which is sometimes lacking from mine, although I am thinking about it and working on it constantly. Yes, that means right now.

As I type this, it is 6:45AM eastern time and I have been up and showered for an hour. I have had some fruit for breakfast and already have done some work. Are you impressed? Don’t be. This morning, my wife returns to a teacher only day at school for the start of her 17th year where she shares her knowledge of Spanish with middle school students. (That’s how we met, but thankfully, she wasn’t speaking Spanish right then. She does now, but only to swear at me and keep me in line. I know a lot of Spanish curse words, but let’s leave that for a future blog). Anyway, she’s up early which means I’m up early. Somehow, she takes care of my needs each morning AND gets herself ready before 7AM each day. You should have seen the house when both kids were really little. It was nuts. Balance? Not so much…..but as usual, I digress.

Before she left the house, we were reminiscing about how 17 years could have passed so quickly and how her first group of students are now in their mid-30’s. Many of them are married with kids now and have begun their “prime earning years” as society likes to point out. I reminded her that the kids I had my first year teaching are now in their 40’s and many of them have had kids that also came through my music classroom.

“Mr. Moeschen, my mom was in your class!” Or, “Moe, you had my dad a long time ago.” Believe me when I tell you that it is a trip to meet former students who are now parents of a student in my class during open house. They laugh when I tell them to call me Pat now, since they are also a grown-up. Balance. The circle of life going around right in front of me. Next year I will have my own son in middle school. I can’t believe it will already be here. Balance.

Some of you reading this also taught for a long time and may be thinking things like: “I had Patrick in 4th grade and THAT is a trip.” Or…”I taught for decades and some of my students are approaching grandparent status.” THAT is also a TRIP. Balance.

I also want to take a moment to recognize the balance of a day. It is now a bit after 7AM and I have paused my writing to watch the sun come up. I try to do this each morning. The kids are still sleeping and the house is quiet and I can certainly spare 10 minutes or so to watch the power of the heavens unfold before my eyes. I have seen thousands of sunsets and many sunrises, but it never gets old. In my minds eye, I remember watching a couple of sunrises at the beach on the eastern shore of New Hampshire, and even one or two while being on an airplane. It’s always beautiful and amazing and something all of us should look upon with wonder. There’s only one Earth and we share it. That would be a good song lyric. Perhaps in my next career. Balance.

Today I will work. I will play with my kids. I will have conversations with people I know and at least a few with people I will meet today. I will taste something delicious and I will enjoy the sun while being outside. I will take a walk (roll) with my kids and look at nature or anything else that interests them. To watch someone grow up is to see life through their eyes. Balance.

Recently I reconnected with a special person in my life that I haven’t spoken with in more than 20 years. When we got on the phone, I said “It’s been too long and THAT is unacceptable.” We laughed but it’s true. How could I have gone more than two decades without speaking to someone that I respect and has been important in my life? I fixed that yesterday and we had a great time chatting about our current lives with a couple of laughs thrown in from the past. Balance.

Most importantly, I am learning to find balance each day by slowing down when needed. This is something I am bad at. I have always lived like I’m not sure if tomorrow is a given. I have felt like this ever since my disease began to progress around 2002, the year I stopped being able to walk. Back then I panicked and made some poor life choices. I threw caution to the wind because I didn’t know how long I would be around. I was reminded of that same fact just 6 short months ago, but now I am old and wise enough to not make the poor life choices. Balance.

Do something important today. For someone else, and for yourself. Watch the sun go down or come up, enjoy that cookie that you are trying to talk yourself out of biting (or maybe it’s a Diet Coke? you know who you are….). Tell someone how much they mean to you and free up 15 minutes to sit and think about your journey, how you got to this point right now today, and how much you have to live for. Balance.

Stay safe, stay awesome, and stay tuned.