Happy holidays to all of you! Hard to believe that it is already that time of the year, but I think that it has finally hit me that we really are almost at the end of another calendar year. I know the old adage is that time flies when you are having fun, but I think for our members, the truth is more along the lines of time flies when you are so darn busy that you can barely distinguish when one day ends and another begins.
That is why this holiday season, my wish for you is that you can slow down, relax and enjoy time with family and friends.
This is a wish that you must make happen. I understand the stresses and strains that many of you are under. More and more work is being added to your plates with less and less time and resources to do it. SLOs and OTES and Third-Grade Reading Guarantees and many more families needing our services are causing unprecedented levels of anxiety. But worse than that, according to a recent survey we conducted, all these changes are eating away at the precious little time you have to actually spend with family. Your time is dwindling. That's a problem that we have to fix, and the anecdotal evidence that you have shared with us on the survey will help us in the critical conversations we have with legislators.
Leave those stresses at work this holiday season. I know that is easier said than done. I know that even if you try, you will have this voice in your head telling you that you should be collecting evidence for your evaluation or writing new lesson plans around the common core standards or stressing over your third grade students who are not at grade level yet or the family you are helping get through this cold winter. For a few days, don't listen to that voice.
Listen instead to the voices of your children who want to spend time with you making Christmas cookies. Listen to the voices of your friends who want to spend a few hours reliving the good old days and creating new memories. Listen to the voice of your spouse who wants to talk about something other than SLOs or your upcoming evaluation. Listen to that voice in your head that says you need a break.
Make this holiday season the best ever filled with memories of family and friends that will sustain you through the days of work ahead. And to those members, such as our social workers, who do not have several days off, I want to extend a special thank you for all you do all year long to provide for children and families. I am sure that many children will have a better holiday season because of something that you have done. I hope that you will be able to find quality time to spend with your own families during this holiday season.