...THIS all day long. 'Nuff said...

...one of these. Seriously. That is all.

July 10th, 2009, was a very important day for me. It was on a Friday afternoon that I made the trip to the University of Redlands for an orientation meeting for the incoming doctoral students in the School of Education.

On July 10th, 2012,  I was in Redlands again, presenting with my classmates at the Summer Institute on Leadership in Educational Justice with the letters Ed.D. after my name. Yes, that's right. Exactly three years to the day.
And there you have it. Bookends on a three-year window. It's amazing, really.

I am around a lot of people who don't think that it's all that amazing, but I know how amazing it is. I finished a doctorate in less than three years. In that three years I've read thousands of pages, written (at least) hundreds of pages, and slept for fewer hours than I am used to. I've fallen in love and have been heartbroken more than once. I've seen families expand through birth and marriage. I've been to many--too many--funerals. I love my best friend--my beloved Milo. And now I have a Barney.

It was a rough week, so instead of celebrating the milestone, I was arguing with my collaborators, suffering from insomnia, and dealing with a car emergency. But, now that I have a chance to breathe, I have to say, yay, me!

I saw this sign on the wall of one of the buildings in the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver. Since the picture's not that great, here's what it says...

The Four-Way Test of the things we think, say or do

1. Is it the TRUTH?

2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?

3. Will it build GOODWILL and better FRIENDSHIPS?

4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

I think this is a great list. I try to ask myself these questions when making a decision, although I don't necessarily do it systematically. Maybe I should try to keep these questions in my head?


I recall a conversation with a colleague last fall when he was having some issues with his students, his colleagues, his classmates, and his teachers. I basically asked him these questions. He was very concerned with answering #1, but he tended to ignore #3 and #4. And the saddest part was that he did not understand why they were important.

I wonder what would happen if more people asked these questions. But since I can't change the world, maybe I should start with myself.

I've been doing a lot of research lately. Yes, again. I'm trying to clean up my dissertation so that it incorporates the concerns that my committee expressed. Dr. Mitchell is really a stickler for making sure things are all in order, which makes for excellence but also creates a lot of work. So I am doing a lot of work. LOL

And July is a busy month for me, research-wise. We are presenting at the Institute for Social Justice conference next week. By "we," I mean me, Rebeccah, and Jean. Now Dr. Mitchell is helping us (a lot!), so he is a part of this, too. We are going to try to turn this paper into our AERA paper. The proposal is due in 3 weeks, so we need to get going pretty quickly.

I've been writing and writing and writing for the last week, and for two days in a row, I met with Dr. Mitchell to discuss my dissertation and the conference paper. I should have known that this would suck up my entire days, but I had faith that it would only suck up a few hours each day. Boy, was I wrong.

It was exhausting. I am so tired...zzz

OK, so now that I have a new goal, I need to find a new way to organize. I've had a pretty good system for the past 3 years, and I've done relatively well. But some things have dropped through the cracks. So I think that I need a new way to organize things so that fewer things get ignored. I'm not quite sure what it's going to be yet. Any suggestions?

I've been wandering around aimlessly for the past month or so. Not that I haven't had anything to do; I've had plenty to do. I have to finish editing my dissertation. I have some papers to write for various things. I have lesson plans to update. I have a house to clean. I have books to read. I have movies and TV shows to watch. I have scrapbooking, genealogy, and numerous hobbies to get back into.

So, it's not that I have nothing to *do*. It's more that I have nothing to *look forward to*. I had a long-term goal for a very long time, and now that I've reached it, I keep thinking, "Now what?"

I've written about this before, so I won't belabor the issue.

And I've also written about some goals that I have, but none of them seemed to be enough. I am looking for something *more*.

So I've decided to concentrate on one goal. It is a long-term goal, has many components, and will not be easy to accomplish. I want to adopt a child.

This is something I've wanted to do ever since I can remember. I have wanted to do this much more than I have wanted to get married or have "my own" (read: natural) children or even get a doctorate. So now I'm going to plan for it.

Now, this is going to take a lot more than just *wanting* to adopt. In fact, several of my other goals will have to be put into place before I can accomplish this.

First, I need to be financially stable. This means that I need to have a good job and reduce a great deal of my debt. This is going to take some time and energy, I know, but it will be great for me in many ways.

Second, I need a better place to live. Either I need to get my house all fixed up or I need to move. I would like to do both, just in case. But at any rate, I need a much better place to live. And I'll be happier once both happen.

Third, I need to be healthier. Since going on the insulin, I have learned how to control my blood sugar. I'm a lot healthier than I was a year ago, and I'm getting the care that I need. But I need to lose weight and still be even more healthy. So that means I need to start exercising. A LOT. And eating better. I know I can do it; I just need a better plan, I think.

So that's it. The Goal. This may take 3 years. Or more. But at least now I have a goal.