On Motivation

This morning I lowered my biking minimum temperature experiential requirement. Previously 25 degrees, it has now bottomed out at 22, although I didn’t feel too uncomfortable this morning, so I’d now venture down to 19 or so without sweating it too much.

I broke my bottom limit because I did nothing for the past two weeks but sit around and eat. Almost literally. I became so accustomed to eating lots that I was able to continue eating lots.

“Like some people become able to hold their liquor,” M said.

So I had to ride today, to work off my vacation’s bounteous excesses–and to make today’s lunch fully worthwhile.

See, my colleague who while out for a walk this summer was attacked by a pit bull (Speaking of pit bulls, one of my students said to me yesterday, “I got a pit bull mix for Christmas.” “I hope you have a fence,” I told her.) and recovered only to fall off a swing and severely shatter her foot or ankle a mere two weeks into the school year, is finally back on both feet to teach once again. Today my team of teachers had a welcome-back party for her, for which I ordered plenty of pizza (some of the leftovers are in the fridge at school, awaiting my lunchtime tomorrow).

You see what I mean? I wanted to be hungry.

To make sure that the colleague being celebrated wouldn’t eat her lunch before the team “meeting,” I stopped by her room this morning right as students began arriving.

“I want to eat lunch with you today,” I said. She seemed delighted.

After securing her inadvertent assurance that she didn’t know about the party and that she would attend it, I pranced back to my room, where a homeroom student asked me for a pencil for the day.

“Okay,” I said wittily. “But bring it back at the end of the day.” I spotted the nickel on my podium, money given me weeks and weeks ago by yet another student who’d needed a pencil and offered the nickel as guarantee of the loaned pencil’s return, which never happened. “And take this nickel, too, to help you remember to bring the pencil back. I want the nickel back, too.”

I haven’t seen him, the pencil, or the nickel since, but the party was nice–and the pizza was delicious.

“I’m glad you’re back,” I told my colleague. “Thanks for giving us a reason to have pizza.”