Fall 2021 is upon us and schools are back in session – many of them in person.
That one sentence alone is a reassurance of sorts. It tells us that perhaps life is inching back to the pre-Covid normal and we all might well be on our way to exhaling a collective sigh of relief.
This year especially, the back-to-school hustle all around me was very noticeable after the past, eerily quiet year and a half. As I imagined the hustle and bustle within households preparing for the school year, I pictured back-to-school shopping sprees, a change in pace from the preceding Summer months, and the rearrangement of schedules to keep in step with school events – all exercises taking on a fresh new excitement. Alongside these usual activities, I also pictured parents shuffling papers around on their refrigerators to make room for the many drawings and report cards that are sure to follow in the days to come.
That visual compelled me to take a new look at my own refrigerator and something instantly stood out to me. Its face was bare. Some may call that clean. Others may deem it clutter-free. Still others, tidy. As for me, it got me thinking.
Why do we as adults, not afford ourselves the simple practice of highlighting our achievements like we do for our children? Except for the token traditional framed academic degrees, certifications, or professional memberships, I have yet to see someone highlight much else about themselves. Perhaps they are afraid that popular opinion would deem them arrogant or silly. Perhaps they don’t notice when they do something remarkable. Whatever the reason, adults don’t have their performance highlighted on refrigerators. My questions is, why the heck not?
Are the things we produce outside of school not important enough? Do we somehow outgrow the feeling of accomplishment in ourselves outside of academia? Is the knowledge that we made a difference on the planet in some small way, or that we managed our oft-demanding lives with a modicum of finesse, or that someone felt better after engaging with us, take on a lower value than a degree earned or some other external validation?
Important questions all. But more importantly, I wondered how we would feel if we as adults did in fact add our daily achievements onto our refrigerators? How would it feel to see a simple piece of paper on the face of my fridge that says “today I carried grocery bags to the car for an elderly lady” or “today I did not let my tiredness turn to temper”? Better yet, what if there was a little sticker on it like some of our teachers gave us many moons ago? What would it do to our sub-conscious, conscious, and super-conscious minds if our accomplishments, however big or small, were given an esteemed spot on our refrigerators?
As has often been the case, I did not have to wonder long because as I was thinking these thoughts, I received a note from an old friend who I had not heard from in a great while. She wanted me to know that her college-bound son’s class was asked to research and write about someone they admired and unbeknownst to either of us he had chosen me as his subject.
She sent me a copy of the paper the young man had written and after a healthy serving of humility and surprise, with a side order of shyness, I started to file the paper away in my folder of testimonials. As I was closing the neatly maintained folder for posterity, I remembered the conversation I had just had with myself mere minutes before I received the message about this paper. The timing undeniable, and the mystical message now clear, I removed the paper from the folder, put it on my refrigerator door and stuck a big ol’ magnet on one of its corners.
The refrigerator hasn’t looked this good in a long time.
This is now the new Fall tradition in my world. Whenever I notice myself doing something meaningful I will put it on paper, give myself a gold star, a pretty sticker, or a smiley face, and happily stick it on my refrigerator door.
How does your refrigerator rate?
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