“What do I do when my love is away?
Does it worry you to be alone?
How do I feel by the end of the day?
Are you sad because you’re on your own?
No, I get by with a little help from my friends.”

Written my McCartney and Lennon and sung by Ringo, this Beatles tune is ringing true these days, more than ever.  The mere fact that Ringo, the lead singer on this tune, seldom sang lead on any of the Beatles’ hits, seems fitting for our current state of affairs. It’s as if the head liners are no longer as important. Front line workers (doctors, nurses, grocery store employees, truckers) are the ones that we now rely on to maintain our survival. We’ve learned very quickly that sports heroes, movie stars, stylists and party planners have faded to the background for the time being.  The drummers, those who have been keeping the beat for so long and gone unnoticed for the most part, are now emerging as our lead singers.

But I digress….

There have been so many unanticipated positives as a result of our current situation.  With the sudden and swift transition to Emergency Online Teaching, there have been hour by hour changes in how best to support our school communities. It’s not business as usual and there is a not a known protocol for how best to move forward. We are making decisions based on our best information and that information is fluid.  Now, more than ever we need to rely on each other, to reach out, to share and to simply be there ~ for a smile, a laugh, a new Netflix recommendation or just some reassurance that what we’re doing is the best that we can do at the time.

Now, more than ever in my leadership career, I am so thankful for my colleagues! I’ve been blessed in each of my assignments to have a VP partner (or in the case of my four years at Wilfrid Jury, 2 VPs) so I know that I’m a better leader when I collaborate, share and seek alternative solutions. So heading into a virtual world of leadership, I was concerned as to what that would look like. I’m thankful for my daily chats with my current VP, but there has been more…

Weekly COS meetings have helped us to stay grounded and ask questions about system messages and directions. My Weekly Sunday afternoon chats with a group of trusted, respected and like-minded colleagues where we can pick each other’s minds about how best to navigate through the upcoming week has been a highlight.

There seems to be more time (or maybe I’m just making more time) for scrolling through social media posts and finding nuggets of good advice to either internalize or externally share with others. I’m thankful for my Twitter friends who are tweeting messages of hope.

I’m a part of an Admin Facebook group and this highly engaging group of colleagues are finding ways to keep us connected, focused and above all else positive.

And finally, our staff is doing a wonderful job of ensuring that we stay connected and true to the heart of what makes it so special to be a part of the SAC Crew.  How can one feel “sad and all alone” when your staff asks to make a special announcement prior to the start of a virtual staff meeting and they proceed to each come on their web cam dressed as a character from Joe Exotic and share, in perfect impersonation of the many characters, something to make us all laugh out loud.

So, thank you for “lending me your ears” while I “sang my song” of appreciation for all of my friends who have helped me get by.

Who’s helping you get by during these ever-changing times?

Come write with me…