Just Say No

“I learned that we can do anything, but we can’t do everything… at least not at the same time. So think of your priorities not in terms of what activities you do, but when you do them. Timing is everything.” – Dan Millman

March of 2020 was an eye-opening month for me. What seemed like a promising year turned into disaster when then pandemic hit. Schools were closed and life had come to a halt.

All of our normal hustle was gone. We went from going somewhere almost every day, to staying home for days at a time only leaving for the essentials. One thing I had been granted that I had not been given in a while is time.

I used that extra time to reflect on just about everything. I heard a sermon at church called the “new normal.” I learned about how things will not go back to the way they were, and I wanted to be a better person on the other side of the pandemic.

One thing I decided was that I needed to say no to things. I am good at a lot of things, especially when it comes to work. I am pretty good with a computer. I can figure out the new curriculum pretty quick. There are a host of things I am good at, but I cannot do it all. I decided to focus only on the needs of my students in my classroom. If what I was doing did not directly address them, then I was not doing it. I found out saying no was a powerful tool to make sure I did what was best for me. I focus only on what matters to me.

These photos I took at South Mountain State Park are some of my favorites that I have taken this year. My son and I hiked to this point together. Since I had been practicing my photography, I was able to capture these great photos of High Shoals Waterfalls. When we visited, we hiked two different trails. We started on the short river trail when we first arrived, and then found the main waterfall trail. By the time we arrived at the lower part of the falls we were so tired from hiking everywhere else, we decided that we were done at that point. So, I took as many photos as I could, and then we decided to head back to our campground.