We are only a few days into 2022, and my word is already kicking my butt. I can't tell you the number of times my friends and family have spoken this word to me. And not in a "Acceptance is your word, isn't it?" kind of way. I don't even know if they know it's my word. But they all sure know I need a healthy dose of it.

The word "acceptance" has already taught me how bossy and (I'm cringing as I write it) judgmental I've become. I hate to blame Covid for all the ills in the world. (LOL, see what I did there?) But honestly, teaching through a pandemic has turned me into a cranky, negative, judgey, impatient person. By nature, I'm the kind of person who rejects all those things. I don't like negative, icky emotions. I scamper out of them as soon as possible. But over the last two years, I've wallowed in them,

In having so little control over how I can teach my students and where I can go for entertainment and where I can travel on holidays, I became someone who tried to control people around me. It's come to the point that I need a teacher. I need a lesson in accepting only what I am in control of and letting go of everything else. I don't know why, but that is scaring me. I think it has something to do with the fact that once I really focus on only what I can control, now I'm responsible for it. I can't blame anything or anyone for my failings or shortcomings.

My dad always told me, "Take care of yourself. It's a full time job." I used to laugh at it. I was sometimes insulted by it. But I've come to realize it's real meaning. It is a 24-hour-a-day, lifelong job to take care of ourselves. That's my main responsibility. So here I go. I'm accepting that reality, even if it's already kicking my butt.