By Beverly Crowell

The first day of school.  A day when everything is brand new and full of promise.  New clothes, new socks, new shoes, new lunchbox and a new backpack.  Pencils are sharpened to a fine point, notebooks are empty, and glue sticks are perfectly perfect. Kids are excited, a little apprehensive and curious about what the first day holds.  Who will be in my class?  Will I like my teacher?  Who will I be sitting next to?  Will I like school this year?

It got me thinking about the last time I felt like my children getting ready for the first day of school.  Certainly, I’ve felt that way every time I’ve started a new job, but what about all the other days in between?  Usually, those days are routine and filled not with promise of what could be, but more often with what is.

What if we approached work like kids do on the first day of school?  What if we looked at each day, or at least some days, as brand new and full of promise?  What might happen?  Would we find creative answers to challenges that have been weighing us down?  Would we strive to meet new people at work?  Would we try to make a good impression on the boss? Would we get jazzed and excited about what we are working on?

A colleague of mine calls these musings, “wondering out loud (WOL).”  WOL with me today.  Buy a shiny new notebook and pencil.  See today as brand new and full of promise. Be a kid again and get excited about what could be, not what should have been. I’m going to give it a shot.  I’ll see some of you at the bus stop!