Attitude of Gratitude

"Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation." I thought of this Brian Tracy quote as I was wrapping up the first full week of the school year.  As elementary counselors we learn every day from the students we work with, the parents, and the staff.  This week I learned from several students that the second week of school is less scary than the first.  A teacher at our staff meeting shared an excellent way of shaping appropriate line walking.  She tells her students that are not doing a good job, "I see that you need to watch others a little more walking using our rules, just go to the end of the line and your classmates will show you."  A parent was in a meeting yesterday quoting several ideas I had shared with her when we consulted about her socially anxious child in the Spring. She taught me how powerful offering parents some new strategies can make them feel supported and reshape their child's experiences.  We touch lives every day and these experiences change us.  I am grateful for all the opportunities being a school counselor gives me to continue to grow and develop.