Now, before I jump into my idea of a perfect day, I need to put out a disclaimer. By the "perfect day", I am talking about normal, every day living, but in optimum condition. I am not talking about a day in Kauai (check out the countdown upper right) or at Pebble Beach for the opening rounds of the US Open (props to Mr. Crosby). I am not talking about wedding/honeymoon days or birth of children followed by a nightcap friendly game of beer league softball. No Ferris Bueller's Day Off here. I am talking about the alignment of all things to work together for the good of a guy just trying to do work to get his. Cue dream sequence...
My perfect day starts with the same annoying beep at the same time. I wake up and head out for a bike ride to get the blood flowing. I come back and head to the back patio where I drink a tall glass of orange juice (maybe cranberry...heck, maybe a mixed cocktail of the two). Sitting out in the backyard I read my scriptures and take some time to actually pray and ponder about what it is I am reading and how I can apply the gospel of Jesus Christ to my life to be a better husband, father, brother, son, friend, etc... I have my spirit journal handy and I just listen for answers to help with the challenges that will present themselves (yes, even on a perfect day).
With about a half hour before the rest of the house wakes up, I head inside to plan for my work day. I review my professional goals and I make sure to identify how the things on my list for the day will help me reach the goals that I have set. I delete unnecessary tasks and delegate those that can be done by others. I review the essentials needed for each appointment and I make sure that I block out time to engage in tasks and connect with people that will remind me of the reasons why I decided to do what I do. I map out the people that I need to talk to and the points that need to be covered with each person. I purge my email inbox to "no scroll bar" status and I spend the last ten minutes reviewing the "great idea" list to see which ideas can be moved from the "pipe dream" to "started" column.
At 6:29, I hop into bed and cuddle up with my wife. This morning, I am her alarm clock. Probably still considered annoying, but without the beeping. I give her a kiss and try to cop a feel before heading out to wake up the kids. I go into their bedrooms and wake them up. We all head to the kitchen where gourmet Hostess powdered and chocolate donettes are waiting for us with glasses of chocolate milk for dipping. We eat breakfast together as the kids eagerly tell me all about the things that are awaiting them at school. While they get dressed, I sit on the couch with my wife and we review the plans that we each have for our day. The kids come into the living room and we are able to read a few verses from The Book of Mormon. I bear my testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel to my family before we kneel together in family prayer asking for Heavenly Father's loving grace and protection to be with us throughout our day. At 7:10, I walk my students to the bus stop and wave as they board and drive off.
Back in the house, I shower and dress for the day. I grab my brown bag lunch and kiss my wife goodbye as I head out the door at 7:45. In the car, I listen to Pandora (toss up between Jack Johnson and Oasis channels). As I pull up to my school just before 8:00, I receive a text from my wife saying that she loves me and hopes I have a great day at school. At 8:00 I walk into my office ready to take on the day.
As I walk in, my office staff greets me and joins me in my office for our daily meeting. We discuss our goals and tasks/appointments in relation to taking steps to achieve our goals. I hand off those things on my plate that I can hand off and I share my thoughts from my morning planning session with them. The schedule for the day is set to allow me to do what needs to be done and see the people that I need to see. At 8:15, I head out on campus on my way to parent drop off to greet students and parents as they begin their day at my school. At the opening bell, I head back into the office, grab the stack of things that need to be read/reviewed/approved, and head into classrooms to see teachers teaching and students learning.
The day goes smooth. I spend two hours in the classroom and I follow up my visits with a few quick emails providing feedback to my teachers regarding the teaching I observed. I call on some students that need extra support to be successful and I review with them the goals that they set to improve and the specific strategies that we were going to do to support them. I ate my lunch with students and got input from them regarding things that they would like to see at school. I was able to connect with teachers and discuss the progress of targeted students and ways that we can improve instruction to help students in their classes.
At the dismissal bell, I head back out to the parent pick up loop and I say goodbye to students and parents. On their way out, I ask them how their day went and I hear nothing but great things regarding what they were able to learn in class and how much fun they had.
I head back to the office to debrief with my staff and review the progress that was made during the day. The skeleton for the next day's plans is set and appointments are discussed. Preparations are finalized and my team leaves for the day. I continue to work until about 4:30 and then I lock up. On my way home, I swing by 7-11 and pick up Slurpees for the family. I swing by the house and pick up the wife and kids and we head over to the lake trail. The kids ride their bikes and my wife and I walk around the lake. Her hand in my right hand and a slurpee in my left. We talk about the things that happened during the day and we share highlights/lowlights. We laugh.
After the walk, we load up to head back home and end up scrapping the plans for cooking dinner and go out as a family. On our way out, we decide to call up some friends and invite them along. We all meet up for dinner and have a great time. We find the room for dessert and walk out contently stuffed.
When we get home, the kids get ready for bed and I sit on the couch for a short spell. I watch Teen Jeopardy (and dominate) while the kids clean things up. When they are ready, I pause the television and we go into their bedrooms for family prayer. My wife and I tuck the kids in and then return to the living room. I continue watching tv until we get back to "live tv" and then I shut it off. My wife and I grab a drink and head out to the backyard where we sit out under the stars and talk. Eventually the chill drives us in. I go into the garage and do a quick workout routine. After the workout, I hop in the shower and then settle down with either a great book or the lap top and a blog entry idea.
Eventually, we put the dog to bed, lock up, and turn in. Brush, floss, and listerine and then my wife and I kneel in humble prayer to give thanks for the richness of our lives. We ask for blessings in the lives of our friends and family, for wisdom in raising our wonderful children, and for the guidance of the Spirit to help us be better the next day. After our prayer together, we spend time for personal prayers. The lights go out. No details are available once the lights are out but what proceeds to happen is the icing on the cake of a perfect day. Just before drifting to sleep, the thought occurs to me that I really am the richest man in town.
I look at the alarm and I do some quick math in my head to calculate the hours before I get to wake up and do it all over again.
No comments:
Post a Comment