8 months and counting...

I have always loved the start of a new month.  New goals, a fresh page on my pretty flower calendar, and new things to try.  I also have been craving cooler weather (who in Texas hasn't been?) and hope that September can bring us some recess-breezes, comfortable nights out on the restaurant patio, and a few more layers at these football tailgates.  Of course, this new month means fall festivities, College Game Day, a three day weekend, and settling into a new routine.

Being a teacher, I think that September is doubly exciting and meaningful in the education world because it means a new school year.  Unlike the crew of desk-job working adults, teachers don't function January to December, or look at the fiscal calendar, but instead live our lives around "September to May."

I would say that the teachers I know sing "Auld Lang Syne" with kazoo and a party hat on right after Labor Day.  I think this month is when we sit back and make resolutions, shop for new school supplies and outfits, clean out our closets and drawers, rearrange our seating charts, start new to-do lists on our stationary pad, and try to set out on a new foot.  In fact, talking to my cohort Tyler the other day on the phone (she goes back to school the Tuesday after Labor Day each year) we got to giggling and decided we were going to call each other more often "this year" and we weren't talking about 2011 or 2012 - we were talking about "in second grade" or "in Kindergarten."  She hilariously remarked, "Put THAT on your New Year's Resolution List.  And you know I'm talking about New SCHOOL Year's Resolutions."

This month I am not only starting over, but celebrating little successes.  Celebrating a successful move across the country, a new job that I am so blessed to have found, and celebrating eight months of ME.

That's right, friends.  I have successfully singled for eight months now and I cannot believe it!  

If you had asked me in early January if I would have made it this long on my own, I probably would have started crying.  Not only have I "made it," I have rocked it.  (If I do say so myself....)

this is not me, but can we pretend that it is? 

New things that once seemed so scary have now become familiar habits and parts of my day that used to feel like big decisions now seem small and mundane.  What would I like to do with my Saturday?  What if I say yes to that first date?  What do I feel like eating right now?  If I could live anywhere in the U.S., where would that be?  Do I want to spend my time at work or at home?  What shows will I shamelessly add to my DVR?  Who do I want to spend my time with?  How do you make new friends in a big place?  When is it OK to lean on other people and when should you push through alone? 

In the mornings I try to remember to read this mantra that I found:

Smile, Ana.  Twenty-four brand-new hours are before me.  Today, I will dwell fully in each moment.  I have so much to be grateful for.  My family and friends love me unconditionally.  I will not be critical of myself or others.  I will be the most loving teacher I can be.  I will see the humor in the stressful moments of my life.   I will focus on the positive aspects of my job and the people I surround myself with.  There are little miracles that occur all day and everyday.  This is a wonderful moment! 

 I know I won't be single forever and that as we grow and change, so does the drumbeat we march to, but for right now, in this part of my life, I am most definitely at my best being by myself.  My anxiety is better, I am eating healthier, I feel happier, I am having more fun, I am most productive in my classroom, and I have never tried to many new things in such a short time.

Is my life perfect?  Most definitely not.  And it's about time I learned that nothing is.

Is it time for a Eat, Pray, Love quote?  Oh, Elizabeth Gilbert.

It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection.  So now I have started living my own life.  Imperfect and clumsy as it may look, it is resembling me now, thoroughly.

So, September, I am here.  I am ready for whatever you bring my way.  And I cannot wait!

I think I might also need to play this song each morning when I wake up this month, thoughts?