Under the Leaves
https://teachbetter.com/blog/under-the-leaves/
A Thinking Runner
I am a runner. I love running. Friends and family will always ask me, especially during marathon training season, “What do you think about on a 20-mile run?” My answer is always, “I think about everything. I come up with solutions to problems I don’t even have yet. I escape and come back a better person.” And that is the truth. Running for me is an escape from everything pulling me down in life, but also my solution to life’s problems. If I don’t engage in some form of physical movement, whether running or lifting, for at least thirty minutes each day, I’m just not able to be that leader and role model those I serve deserve. And as stated earlier, I do a lot of pondering during these moments moving alone.
An Autumn Runner
My favorite season to run is definitely autumn. There are many reasons for this. First, the temperatures are usually very favorable. I can wear shorts and a long sleeve shirt and be completely content and comfortable during my run. Second, autumn is Chicago Marathon season! Since 2013, I have completed six 26.2 Chicago Marathons, always held on Columbus Day weekend. This is a special time as I reflect on all of the hard work and sacrifices that I endured throughout the summer and fall while preparing myself—mentally and physically—to run 26.2 miles through the greatest city. Finally, I love running through my neighborhood streets as my surroundings begin to change. Leaves mutating colors and dropping to the Earth make for a new canvas that I had spent time with just weeks before.
September 2022 Run Epiphany: Under the Leaves
There was a run in September 2022 that hasn’t escaped my mind. During the run, I knew I wanted to blog about it because it needed to be shared with the world. I was out my back door by 5:30 a.m. for a seven-mile run. I typically embrace an out-and-back route, and my feet had just glided over the six-mile mark. One more mile to go, shower, down another cup of coffee, and be the servant leader our staff and students deserve. As I ran through a crosswalk, I noticed the sidewalk. What I was about to embark on was clothed in leaves. I hadn’t noticed this when I had first begun my run. The sun had yet to awaken from its own alarm clock. But now, I clearly saw the plethora of colors that had fallen from their former abode, hiding the concrete my feet were so used to dancing with.
I began to think that while seasons change, what was once so familiar could appear as new. Something we must trust and hope will be safe. We now tread over a little more carefully than we did just even the previous day. As my feet embraced these leaves, I put on a little more awareness, not knowing if there was a stick or other piece of debris hiding underneath that could cause me to trip, stumble, and fall.
Seasons Change
Once the season changed, and the sidewalk was not so familiar anymore, I needed to watch my step and be more aware of my approach. Our students are like the once oh-so-familiar sidewalk I ran on every morning of those summer months. We, as educators, know the importance of building trusting, meaningful, and loving relationships. Yet no matter how strong and positive of a bond we create, there will be those days when our students’ season has changed. We may not be able to see that sidewalk as it’s covered in freshly fallen leaves. Sometimes those leaves will blow with the wind and our path will once again be clear. Other times, the leaves will remain and stick to the sidewalk with rain, dew, and frost that visits.
It’s up to us to know, no matter what season our students may be in, that the familiar sidewalk we frequent, is still there. Some days we’ll need to simply brush away the leaves to see it and reconnect with it. On other days, when those leaves have been engrained and crusted in, we’ll need to tread carefully and methodically to ensure no one slips and falls and becomes truly broken.
Love our students, connect with them daily, regardless of their season or yours. That strong, stable sidewalk, the relationship you’ve established, will always be there. Some days you just need to search harder.
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