Don't sweat the small stuff...

...and it's all small stuff


I haven't read this book, but I think that it would definitely be a good for me.  Last night I was talking to a very close friend of mine, searching for some advice.  As we got into it, he said, "Tati, want to know my life motto?  I have always seen this book on my dad's bookshelf.  I have never read it and I don't know who wrote it but it is called, 'Don't sweat the small stuff, and it's all small stuff.'"

I am the ultimate stress ball and I wish that I was kidding.  I worry a lot, but I like to think I have gotten better - actually, I KNOW that I have gotten better.

During my freshman year at BYU, I would call my mom, stressing about things weeks away or tests that I had already took.  Mom would walk me through things, tell me I had to make a To Do list just for the day and never look ahead in my planner.  She helped me accept scores that I could do nothing about and be determined to do better the next time.

I have since stopped worrying about things that I don't have control over.  I prep for big meetings and deadlines one day at a time by putting it bit by bit on my To Do list (but for some reason I always feel like I am rushing to get it done in the end). My calendars are my best friends and I have four in my classroom alone.

• Calendar #1 is full of the things my students should know (breaks, weekly themes, assemblies, field trips, etc...)
• Calendar #2 is for me and my aides to write what we have going on (meetings, who will be out of town, etc...) and it has all of the same stuff from the student's calendar as well.
• Calendar #3 is a planner for me - for my eyes only full of fun things like new teacher training, IEP meetings, and dance parties!  It comes and goes wherever I do.
• and Calendar #4 is my most recent purchase and has been velcroed to my desk.  It is marked with everything possible (vacations, friend's weddings, gatherings with friends, themes at school, assemblies, meetings, etc....).

I loveeee calendars.  I love To Do lists.  I love post its (they surround my computer, around my desk, on my calendars).  I love scheduling.  I love to send out emails to my IEP team over and over again about dates.  I love having events to look forward to.

I guess you can say that time is what I stress/sweat most about.  I hate being late (I have always said I would rather be half an hour early than 5 minutes late).  I hate bailing out on things I said I would go to.  I hate being blindsided by an event/meeting I forgot about until the night before.  Weird that time is such an issue from me since I have Latin blood (they are notorious for just coming and going.  People come first.  If they are on their way to a meeting and run into family or friends, the meeting has to wait.  I wish I was more like that...) AND I am LDS (joke is that we have to say meetings and events start an hour before they really do so that everyone shows up at the time that the event actually starts).

Anyway,  this post didn't go where I thought it would go as I started it.  But, thank you Kendrick for giving me a new motto so that I can really enjoy what I have because I have so much to be grateful for without worrying about the little things.