Hope and a Groundhog

image from: https://jasbaku.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/groundhogday5.gif?w=300

I, like many others this morning, who do not consider themselves "winter enthusiasts," was anxiously awaiting word from Wiarton Willie about his prediction for the coming of Spring.  I was very much hoping he would not see his shadow and tell us that Spring would be on it's way, post haste.  Alas, it must have been a much nicer day north of here, and Willie did see his shadow....so six more weeks of winter.

It does seem an odd thing to pin our hopes on the weather prediction of a sleepy, yet famous, rodent.  Certainly, Willie and his many weather predicting rodent cousins, are wrong as much as they are right when it comes to the arrival date of warmer days.  And scientifically, there can't be many studies that would vouch for this meteorological methodology as a verifable way to accurately predict our seasonal changes.  Yet still, we wait, and we hope.

That's kind of what hope is all about though.  We don't let things like scientific facts stop us from hoping.  Hope is not quantifiable or scientifically provable.  It's about a desire for something to happen.  It's about what our heart wants, not what our brain tells us.  When we are waiting for an event we ponder the outcomes, we consider the odds, we consult experts, but we still harbor our own hopes even when they are the most unlikely option.  We hope for the best and prepare for the worst.  We hope against hope.  We hope for miracles.  Hope springs eternal.

Hope gets us through the hard times, because without it, we would be lost.

I hope for so many things.  I hope my students will be safe when they are not at school.  I hope they will believe in themselves.  I hope they will overcome the obstacles life puts in their way.  I hope I will find that spark in them that makes them want to come to school.  I hope they will always choose to be kind.  I hope I will continue to be a model of life long learning throughout my career and life.  I hope I and those I care about will stay healthy.  I hope for happiness, well being and a well lived life.

I absolutely work and plan and act to make these hopes reality.  Goals without a plan and hard work are just dreams, after all.  But on the bad days, I hope tomorrow will be better.  It's that hope that gets me out of bed each day to start fresh.

Today, I'm hoping ole Wiarton Willie is wrong and that soon I will see some snowdrops and daffodils pushing their way through the last of the snow in my garden.  Maybe spring will come in six weeks or less, and maybe it won't. But, that won't stop me hoping.

Photo: R.Meharg

This post was featured on VoicEdRadio.ca's "This Week in Ontario Edublogs" on February 7, 2018.  To hear the discussion between Doug Peterson and Stephen Hurley, click on this link.