Back to school today. I’m a high school English Language Arts teacher. No students today as we start with a week of administrative and planning tasks. Teaching is a mixed bag of highs and lows occurring weekly, daily, even minutely. Ask any teacher they will barrage you with wins and woes.

I never know what to expect but must anticipate it, whatever that it is or might be.

I am a newbie in the K-12 arena. I discovered this profession – which chose me not I it – fit well with my need for variety, my need for routine, and the guiding deadlines. Each day is a series of performances, judged by developing minds and the tanks they are filled with. I fear it. I thrive in it. I grow helping others grow.

A gardener of the mind. Just like the gardener needs the correct tools and conditions to elicit blooms, so does the teacher need to create the environment conducive to promote growth. It’s not easy for either.

I’m still learning how to do this because the details of these unremarkable days have the foundation to develop remarkable lives. Lives that I am unlikely to ever see to fruition. Lives built on a hope.

What unremarkable moments bring meaning to your life?