Despite the category, this guy is not walking around today. My knee is protesting the whole walking around concept. Random body parts are taking turns reminding me that I’m not 35.

A new perspective on something familiar. Reminders for me this morning of the value of seeing something from a new point of view. Of actually listening to what someone is telling me instead of dismissing their thoughts and opinions as wrong.

I’ll miss these marina views. RV season is drawing to a close. Daylight hours are shrinking and nighttime’s temperatures are visualizing our breath as we burrow beneath the blankets in our bed.

Happy Thanksgiving! This weekend, I’m celebrating family, friends and all the good things that fill my life with meaningful purpose. We may feast on food, for sure, but we also feast on the bountiful relationships and resources that are possible because of the freedoms we have in this great country.

I am such a chicken. Signs like this make me want to hightail it back to the car and just go home. Or maybe become one of the gray heads walking circuits at the nearby mall, dodging shoppers and wondering why my feet are killing me. On this day, however, I kept on walking, passed the sign and entered the woods.

I had completely forgotten about this walking trail. As I walked it the other day I determined to visit it regularly. All Trails app makes it easy to see where you’re going and how long it will take you to get there. There will be no need for search parties to rescue this directionally challenged trail walker.

This is likely the last camp fire of the season. We bought our RV as an escape during Covid and have never regretted it. Four years later, we’re settled in and enjoy having a closeby retreat from our somewhat hectic life.

Saw this little guy on our walk this morning. No clue what type of insect it is, but will no doubt see more like it in the coming days till the weather gets cooler.

You know you’re moving slowly when …..

I’d forgotten how nourishing it is to sit quietly and watch the city wind down.

I know that I am prone to enthused exaggeration, but on my walk today I saw the most beautiful tree in the park. Before you judge me, know that I already have tempered my remarks for I really wanted to say that on my walk today I saw the most beautiful tree in the whole wide world.

Life can be a soul-sucking rush with days filled fetching and toting, going and coming, planning and revising. Days end with fitful sleep and new ones begin with schedules already super-saturated. Pause, oh Self. There’s value and balance to be found in solitude, stillness and contemplation.

I’m waiting in a weaving line with crowds of people ahead of me. Rain might be coming; the air is heavy and moist. The arena doors won’t open for another half hour at least and I could easily succumb to impatience, discouragement or annoyance. Then I look up and suddenly I’m lost in the sky’s beautiful immensity.

A stately old church in the heart of downtown London. Built in 1869, an architectural example of Gothic Revival, with a prominent tower and steeple, pointed arches and lots of stained glass. Why does a beautiful church setting more easily inspire reverence for me?

I love walking in the Fall. The cool temperatures, colourful leaves and quiet stillness make me want to linger on the pathway.

Took a ride with the family in an open car on this old diesel from the 1950s. The scenic ride from the Port Stanley terminal to the boundary of St. Thomas lasted about an hour. It was a perfect way to celebrate the 87th birthday of a life-long railway enthusiast.

Viewing the city from the top of city hall. A great reminder that a bird’s eye view provides a different perspective.

Explored Central Library’s Rotary Garden, a secret oasis in the midst of downtown London. Lots of shady places to sit, read and bask in tranquility.

Downtown shortcuts and passages.

Never alone on my walks downtown.

Walking the pathway along the Thames River. Mood upswing on its way. #10ksteps

Yes, I’m still retired and no, it no longer sucks. Looking back at my career path, I can say, without a doubt that I enjoyed teaching far more than administration. I feel that my moments of biggest impact came in the classroom and not the office.

Currently, I have three part-time jobs that keep me as busy as I want to be. Two are related to education, but the other is not. These work commitments typically consume just a few hours during the week and still leave me the the freedom to juggle my calendar and accommodate my whims.

Do I regret choosing education as my career path? No. My years as a teacher and then administrator were good ones. I worked hard, enjoyed my days and felt that what I did was important. The connections I made with others along the way still provide me with lots of memories to savor and stories to share.

I came into the administrative role with high expectations. I expected a perfect opportunity to empower staff, support students and engage the community. I tried my best to do this in four schools: once as vice principal and three times as principal. I’m glad I knew these basic principles before coming into the role:

1. Status quo is a powerful force.
2. People do what’s best for them.
3. Collaboration works better than clobberation.

As a newcomer to the school, I knew it was better and smarter at first to watch and listen before starting to make changes based on initial observations and assumptions. Sometimes a practice that looks ineffective is in place for a very good reason. Sometimes, though, a resistance to change is none other than a reluctance to take initiative, learn new skills and put in the work.

Different leaders have different styles that reflect the way they interact with others. I am collaborative. Before I make a decision of consequence, I instinctively reach out strategically to others and draw upon their knowledge and experience. It was natural, therefore, to do this as an administrator.

My leadership motto is “collaboration is multiplication”. Consulting and brainstorming with those impacted leads to wiser, more fulsome decisions, more collective support and the kind of change powerful enough to break through the status quo for the ultimate good of the learners.

When I began my teaching career, I never thought about any type of leadership beyond the classroom. I was very comfortable at the front of the class and had no issue speaking with supervisors, giving workshops to colleagues and conferencing with parents. Leading a school though, I believed, took an additional skill set: decisiveness in decision making, fluency in speech and relentless determination when dealing with missteps from anyone: staff, students or parents. Such principals were respected, but not always liked. If that was what it took to be an effective leader, count me out, I thought.

It was shortly after I had transferred to another school that my principal there suggested I take on some administrative duties. She saw in me some qualities that she thought fit her vision of what a leader was. We obviously had different visions, but whatever. I was at a point in my career where I was looking for something different to do. After so many transfers, a sameness had crept in where current students reminded me of ones I had already taught, the teacher down the hall was just like a friend I’d worked with previously, and creative untried ideas became fewer and far between. I was ready for a change and change, it turned out, was ready for me.

I revelled in the new found freedom to try new things, switch grades, work with different colleagues and relocate to other school communities when I felt the time was right.

Over the course of the next twenty years, I taught in every grade, transferred to eight different schools and acquired a plethora of additional qualifications along with an additional university degree. During that time, I climbed the ranks from teacher to principal.

I am curious by nature and during my career was always open to learning new things, teaching and leading in different schools and working within a variety of schools and their communities.

Looking back, I always appreciated the fact that I could envision an uninterrupted career path to retirement. When I felt that I had learned and contributed all I could in a particular school, I looked for a new place to put down roots and grow. There was never a thought that leaving one place would bring unemployment: job security was never a problem like it had been previously.