Friday, August 15, 2008

Last vacation day had a picture perfect ending - kids on the beach building an impressive neighborhood of sand castles, Bob and I holding hands in the Gulf of Mexico, discussing how to teach kids to write while we bobbed up and down in the gentle waves as the sun set and the moon rose full in a sky tinted gently in blues and pinks. The pearl tones of the sky reflected in the water, the mist and glowing beach sand looked like something painted by Monet - literally caught my breath at the pue beauty of it.

I'm still totally awed by Bridges, the web site I wrote about last week. I wrote to the Friday "I believe" challenge agin today.

I believe the concept of tryog to do my best all the time is dangerous. I try instead to do "well enough" most of the time at most things and aim for excellencewhen possibble, especially with things that really matter. I have made myself so anxious and scattered trying to do my best at everything. Brilliance, when it happens, just blows through the roof on it's own accord anyway.

4 comments:

Ruth said...

I thought of you the other day when I was helping Kelly set up her classroom and one of her good friends came in to discuss teaching strategies. Apparantly one of the mottos of their team is "If better is possible good is not enough" and while I get and even approve of the intent I had to tell them all about the dangers of REQUIRING "better" all the time. I wished I'd had you there to help me get my words straight.

Mary said...

I will have to look back at the Bridges website again. When first I looked, after you mentioned it, I did not really see too much there for MY interests...but maybe there is. I will check again, as you are so impressed with it.

I do believe what you say is true about brilliance when it happens!

Peggy said...

What a wonderfully wise post Victoria. Good enough is indeed an excellent and largely achievable goal. I think of this often now after knowing you and hearing you say it.

I love your description of floating in the Gulf. You and Bob must be good at floating to be able to bob up and down while holding hands! Or maybe you were on rafts or something! The ocean is never quite that calm and warm here. The Monet colors sound so lovely.

Victoria said...

Peggy, the Gulf of Meico, at least where I visit it is MUCH calmer than the Pacific. Bob even said to me the other night that we could never float up and down the way we were, holding hands, in the Pacific. We really didn't have to do much in the water the way it was that night, just stood close together, facing each other, holding both hands and paying just enough attention to go up and down with the waves - very restful.