Lesson learned: Sometimes we just get to be brave

Today took courage. I knew it would be that way. I knew that it would be not so hard for some and really hard for others. I saw the butterflies in their stomachs. But we just had to do it. We had to get through the first day. My first graders just got to be brave today.

They got to be brave when there were a kajillion kids running around before school started. They got to be brave when they said goodbye to their mom and walked through the front doors. They got to be brave in the cafeteria with all of the big kids. One kid got to be brave and ask for help when he realized his class had left the assembly without him. (My bad.) They got to be brave and play with kids they had never met before. They got to be brave and stay the whole day, even though it probably felt like the longest day they've ever had.

But the beauty of it all is that tomorrow will be easier. Less courage will be required. They will get used to things, they will make friends, the hallways will become familiar, and I will eventually stop calling them bud, hun, or "kid in the green shirt." They just needed to be brave today. And maybe tomorrow. And then they'll be able to do first grade.

I totally felt for my kids today because I get it. I know what mustering up courage feels like. Being brave is not one of my most favorite things. I think I thought that once we grew up, we wouldn't have to be brave anymore. Ha.

I've had to be brave so many times in the past few years. I got to be brave in college as I moved away from home and started the whole being an adult thing. I got to be brave on my mission (to the nth degree) as I approached random people on the streets and told them about the things I know to be true...in Polish. I got to be brave as I interviewed for teaching positions. And then I really got to be brave every morning as I walked into work that first year of teaching. I get to be brave in dating as I allow my heart to be put out there knowing there's a possibility of rejection and heartache. I got to be brave this weekend as I was honest with a couple of friends and told them about some things that are hard for me. And I got to be brave today as I put on my don't-worry-I-know-what-I'm-doing face and embarked on another year of teaching.

But just like my first graders who needed to just get today under their belts, I was able to do all of these things because, for just a moment, I could be brave. I just needed to get through the door, onto the plane, into the conversation, my hand in his, standing up, out of the car. In those moments where courage was required, I know that my strength came from a loving Heavenly Father who knew that I just need a little push. Elder Bednar said, "...as you and I face challenges and tests in our lives, the gift of faith and an appropriate sense of personal confidence that reaches beyond our own capacity are two examples of the tender mercies of the Lord." I love that quote.

So while it's not my favorite thing, by any stretch of the imagination, I'm learning that so. many. good. things can come from just bucking up, relying on the strength of the Lord, and being brave for just a moment. Usually that's enough to get you going (or at least get you in far enough that you're stuck and can't back out).

Lesson learned: Take a break

School life has a nice structure to it—you go to kindergarten for nine months, then you have three months off, you go to first grade for nine months, then three months off, second grade for nine months, three months off. And there are built-in breaks throughout the school day—there's morning recess, lunch recess, and as many hokey-pokeys, chicken dances, simon says, wiggle getter outters, and dance parties as I deem necessary. It's a nice system. You work hard and then you get a break.

The tricky part is when school ends. For most of the non-students and non-teachers out there, there are not built-in breaks. We move from job to job, from child to child, from task to task, from trial to trial, without a chance to come up for air. We just charge ahead at full speed, hoping that there will be a moment to breathe somewhere in the future. We put things on the back burner, saying we'll do them when such-and-such is over or when the deadline passes or when the kids are older or when we have more free time, but very seldom are we ever able to bring those things back onto a front burner.

I love teaching, but I must say that I am very grateful for the break I have had—the chance to take some things off of the back burner. I've been able to rest and recharge and reset. There is something so good about taking a break from the normal pace of things. We all need it.

I know most people don't have the luxury of a couple months off every summer, but I'm learning that there are ways to take small breaks along the way, even when you're busy. The break might be a whole day, an afternoon, a lunch break, a bathroom break, or even just a breather. As President Uchtdorf said, "We would do well to slow down a little, proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most."

Take a break. You will be so much happier, patient, healthier, calmer, and then productive when you do get back to work. Take a moment to take care of yourself, read a book, have a little conversation with God when you're stuck in traffic, call a friend and laugh so hard that your stomach and cheeks ache, close your eyes and take some deep breaths, listen to a favorite conference talk during your lunch break, take a quick nap (or a long one), make a list of things you want to improve, make a list of all the things you're doing right, stay in the shower for five extra minutes, sit on a bench and people-watch, do something different than your normal routine. Take a break. It will do your soul so much good.

Today is my last official day of summer break and I feel like it's perfect timing. I'm starting to get that itch again. You know... the desire to label everything, organize, color coordinate, cutesify things, laminate, and have 25 six-year olds under my care and direction seven hours a day for the next nine months. But even as the summer ends and school begins, I'm going to try really hard to remember to "slow down a little" and occasionally take a break. (Please remind me of that last sentence a couple weeks from now when I am in the thick of things, stressed out, and exhausted...)