Who Inspires Me? (a sequel)

"Will, I think you might be looking at inspiration too one-dimensionally. You are inspired by so many people...but it just isn't always packaged the same way--the way you might think."

That was my wife responding to my post from yesterday.*

And, as I sat on my living room couch, my mind began to drift toward all the people I interact with who inspire me.

They inspire me not because of their textbook, Eureka-like moments of garrulous, collective, firework-inducing INSPIRATION, necessarily, but rather because of their inspiring

humility,

willingness to listen (to understand, not to respond),

commitment to social justice,

love of their students,

simultaneous commitment to both discipline AND fun,

clear and direct channels of communication,

penchant for making eye contact,

playfulness, 

eagerness to become excited about the things that excite their students,

unabashed love of YA fiction,

Twitter feed,

positivity,

joy (even in the face of inopportune circumstances),

devotion to the mission of the school,

tendency to ask, "Can I give you some feedback I would want to hear if I were you?",

gentleness,

sense of humor,

eye contact,

love of change and challenge,

love of tradition,

curiosity,

organization,

penmanship,

desire to celebrate EVERYTHING worth celebrating.

So, thanks to them...they're worth celebrating for sure.

*And so is my spouse/partner/confidant/inspiration/friend who, nearly a decade ago, first caught my attention because she challenged me in a way nobody else ever had.