There are many famous John Wooden quotes but this one has weighed heavily on my heart recently. I LOVE what I do, and in education, it is especially easy to work all the time. Yet I know that I must find balance and take the time to enjoy my family...and to enjoy my life. Thank you for reminding me of this, Coach Wooden!

Other quotes from Coach John Wooden that have made me stop to think:
~If you do not have the time to do it right, when will you find the time to do it over.
~If we’d magnified blessings as much as we magnified disappointments we would all be much happier.
~Much can be accomplished by teamwork when no one is concerned who gets credit.
~Be slow to criticize and quick to commend.
~Be more concerned with what you can do for others than what others can do for you; you’ll be surprised at the
results.
~Being average means you are as close to the bottom as you are to the top.
~Nothing can give you greater joy than doing something for another.

Having been a teacher for over 20 years, I have worked with many students over the years.  I enjoy hearing from my former students after they have graduated and moved on to experience their life's journeys. Recently, I reconnected with one of my students after about 10 years.  I invested in this young man when he was a rebellious high school student, and stayed in touch with him for a bit after high school, but life happened, and I always wondered what became of him.  We were able to catch up on the phone the other week.  He is a father now, married, with two children.  He moved out of California for a slower pace of life and it brought me great joy to hear about how he had built a happy life for himself and his family.  He shared with me that he had a memory box, and in it was a buisness card of mine that I gave him over 10 years ago.  This really touched my heart.  I would have never known that he kept that little card, or that it symbolized something special to him.  He called me his "mentor" and said that he hoped this his kids had just one teacher that was like me.  This has made me stop to think of many things...like how teachers, in general, are in the memory boxes of so many of their students and may never know it....and it has made me stop to think about what is in my memory box.  Maybe this will also make you stop to think what is in yours.