When is It Best?

People who know me understand how much I love my wife.  Without getting all "mushy," she really is the best thing that has ever happened to me.  Kim works at a local Fortune 500 company, and lately her hours have been very, very long.  In fact, she's been leaving our house at 5:30 in the morning and not getting home until after 8 at night.  About two weeks ago, I sent flowers to her at her office.  There was really no reason other than to let her know how much I love her and I knew she was working long hours.  I commented to a friend that I had sent Kim flowers, and my friend replied, "The best time to send flowers is when you don't need to!"

I thought that was a neat response, and it got me thinking about other times it's best to do something. Here is my random list.  Each response ends with, "... is when you don't need to ."

  • The best time to go to the doctor
  • The best time to compliment a co-worker
  • The best time to exercise
  • The best time to call your parents

You understand where this list is going.  Perhaps you have your own ideas to add?  I have others that are funny and some are sad--but so very true for me!

At our school we actively teach our students to be proactive.  In other words, we teach students the benefits of being responsible and solving problems before they happen.  While many of our students are off to great starts in their learning habits, our students who struggle don't seem to understand what many successful learners take for granted:

  • The best time to do your homework
  • The best time to learn to share
  • The best time to be nice
  • The best time to learn how to work with someone different from you
  • The best time to learn self-control
  • The best time to set personal and academic goals
  • The best time to fall in love with learning

I suppose this list is endless as well, and I encourage all families to think about what they are doing to teach their children to be proactive leaders of their own learning.


And go ahead and send some flowers to someone special...for no reason!


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