Recently my boss went out on paternity leave as he has a new son. That would have an impact on my job and my personal life as I would be acting principal at my school. The prospect left me with discomfort, anxiety and some anger. I have done this before—at a larger school, with many more challenges, so this would not be too hard. But it also arose for me negative memories of carrying a school and making an executive decision alone that hopefully doesn’t have deleterious effects on a school and may make someone unhappy. While I was pleased my boss would be spending time with his son, I would have to make decisions about absent teachers with no sub, addressing discipline problems, and making sure day to day coverage was happening, while at the same time doing my job.
Last weekend my nephew was relating to me that he hated his moles. He thinks he has too many, their too big, and people comment on them. This is something that he has brought up previously. He is oblivious to the fact that he is very handsome and these moles will charm with whomever he falls in love. But this does not comfort an 11 year old prepubescent boy.
In a recent issue of National Geographic there was a small article on people with moles, which have been considered beauty marks. Scientists have found that people with more than 100 moles may age more slowly. People with moles tend to have more telomeres, DNA segments which control the ability of cells to divide and renew tissues, which shrink over time. The more moles, the longer one’s body has the ability renew tissues. I sent him a letter and a copy of the article to him along with Aesop’s fable “The Stag at the Pool” letting him know that moles can be a blessing. But more importantly, that that which we disdain can often be a blessing.
I wish someone one would send me a letter letting me know that being TSAP (teacher substituting as acting principal) can be a blessing in disguise.
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