As I read the wonderful article written about my tenure and retirement in the local newspaper, I was struck with humility. To see your life summed up, in many ways, makes you realize how incomplete each of us is. The article was terrific since it represented what I most deeply cared about as a teacher, but the article also demonstrated to me that none of us can do it alone or sufficiently make the changes and do the needed work to make schools or any other organization thrive alone--it takes the teamwork of all stakeholders who invest their good time, energy, knowledge, and good ideas. I feel fortunate that I had the time to work with so many good people over time as an educator--this teamwork resulted in good work for and with children. I am both proud and happy about that.
Now it's time to move forward, time to tackle new challenges for my own life and the life of others. I will utilize the same kind of planning that went into successful school programs to plan for other life pursuits--planning that takes research, good time, preparation, and analysis. Life is about the good work and events we engage in--events and work that allow us to be with good people creating good times and engaging in meaningful endeavor. With good work and success comes a great deal of humility--the kind of humility that acknowledges both the good work we have engaged in and our great limitations too as individuals. That's the bittersweet quality of being human and living a good life--we do our best always with the knowledge that we will never be all things or be complete by ourselves. The goal is to do the best that you can.