La Maestra Loca
Welcome to Teaching la vida loca, a podcast for World Language Teachers seeking inspiration, unapologetic authenticity, and guidance in centering joy and facilitating language acquisition for the people who matter most. Our students, I'm your host, Annabelle. Most people call me La maestra loca. And I'm an educator just like you and inspiring teachers is what I do.
La Maestra Loca
Welcome to Episode 30 of teaching la vida loca. I am recording this on break at the start of my winter break. And I am very hopeful that as you're listening to this that you are also on break, enjoying rest and recovery and bathrobes or pajamas. I know I wear the same pajamas for three days in a row. Paul got me this big comfy robe. And I've pretty much just lived in it. And that's one of the ways that I am resting this break. And this episode is going to be all about rest. I had the opportunity to interview my dear friends, Claudia Elliot, and Bertha Delgado, we did a session together on how we were reflecting on the first semester, things that went really well things that we loved things that we want to improve upon for next semester. And at the end of that session, Claudia grabbed all the recording and made it into Episode 13 of her podcast growing with proficiency. And I said, hey, y'all can I just record really quick for my own podcast. So, we stayed on an extra 15 minutes to record this for you.
La Maestra Loca
But rest looks a little bit different for everybody. So, my rest of this break is really being intentional around family time. And being intentional about decluttering the house, getting rid of lots of things and trying to be more intentional about the things that we're keeping. We've definitely outgrown our house. And I feel like we have so much stuff that is just not necessary. So, spending some time decluttering and spending some time away from my devices, which won't be hard for me, I'm really good about setting boundaries, with devices and with social media. So that's what rest looks like for me.
La Maestra Loca
I also want to revisit the boundaries that I set for myself at the beginning of the school year and think about how I can be more intentional about focusing on ones that maybe I let go of like drinking water. I was not very successful with that this this past semester. So how can I be more intentional about reintegrating that and what I want to see for myself in the new year, as I am confident it's going to be the best year yet. I'm always confident in that. It's a good way to start the year. So, without further ado, I'm going to jump straight into this podcast episode with Bertha and Claudia so they can share a little bit about what they're doing. And I'm really grateful for you. And I hope that you get lots of rest that you so deserve this winter break teacher. send you lots of love. And I'll talk to you soon.
La Maestra Loca
Okay, I'm here now with my friends, Bertha and Claudia. Yeah, we actually just finished our live video together on reflecting on 2022. So, if you missed that, I'm going to link it in the show notes. Bertha does YouTube video and Claudia's podcast, but I wanted to take a second to ask these wonderful people, mentors of mine friends of mine, what they are doing to be intentional about rest since I've just shared with you about how I'm being intentional about my rest to remind you that rest looks different for all of us. And even if what they're sharing still doesn't connect with you, just to prove to you that it's going to look different but what's important is that you're taking it this break so let's do that, Bertha and Claudia yeah tell us how you are being intentional about your rest this break.
Bertha Delgadillo
Well, I am really happy to report Annabelle that this year I am being and last year I started being super intentional about my rest and unapologetic about my rest and then how I got there is because I got sick for a whole year and a half as you know I had really terrible anxiety attacks for a long time and that force because I used to be a workaholic and I would not stop. So, after that happen it's the horrible thing to live with. And I was able to learn how to cope with that and now I'm on the other extreme now I am I so happy with resting and a little bit not so disciplined with getting back to work mode, believe it or not. So, this is how I cope. This is what works for me right now is still a work in progress. because, you know, we are growing and prioritizing different things. And right now, my rest, I just got my husband back with me after him being gone for a year and a half. So, the priority right now is to spend time with him and my son, who is going to be graduated in two years and a half, two years, and a half, he is going to be on his way to, you know, whatever he pursues. And I don't want to have their regret that I didn't spend enough time with him when I'm so close. So, for those two reasons, here's, here's how I work. And I kind of keep myself accountable, I have a little list, you can do this on a piece of paper, and I do a brain dump of all the things I would like to do during the break. Because you know, I want to get that out of my brain, I don't want to carry it. Because all of that is waste, it's just waste on you. So, I want to get rid of that. And I don't want to have all those little things that me saying, but that you had to do this, you wanted to do that this project that project. So, I do a brain dump, I end up having about 20 to 50 things, and I just get a highlighter, and I highlight the top five, and maybe I'm gonna do one. And that's it. Or maybe I'm gonna do five, it depends, it depends. Because maybe tomorrow, let's say tomorrow, I have my list already, I have my brain dump already. So maybe tomorrow, my husband tells me, hey, I'm gonna go out with some friends for coffee for three hours. And I actually feel like, you know what, I could do some work. So, I grabbed my list, and then I do that work. But if I don't want to do any work, and I want to watch a movie or whatnot, then I allow myself to do that. So, it's a guilt-free break up. So that's my prioritizing rest. So, guilt free, given that if I don't do any of those things, I allow myself to be like, you're okay, this is your break. You don't have to do any work if you don't want to. But if you can squeeze it in, and you it's gonna make you happy. Go for it. So that's my strategy.
La Maestra Loca
That's so power, I think that the if it's going to make you happy part is so important to like that finding your joy. I actually before Claudia shares, I was telling you all that I'm taking this course on time management. And one of the activities she had us do in the first module; I haven't even moved past there are people who did this in like four days. And I'm like, how I'm still in module one, lesson three. And she's having us she had us. Hour by hour, minute by minute, document what we do in a whole week. Let me tell you how much time it took me to be disciplined and doing this. But she's like, you have to be intentional. You have to do it. Exactly as I'm telling you to do it. Like you have to do exactly. Every minute. What are you doing? Because there's exactly this many minutes in a week you spend them regardless, how are you spending that time? And what I found that guy was, I'm always like, there's so much to get done. There's so much to do. So even in my resting moments, I was feeling guilty about that. Or like, oh, well, I know, I just want to sit, and binge watch another two episodes, but maybe I should do it while I'm checking my email. Maybe I should do it. While I'm doing this other thing that I know it has to get done. But what I found was when I was intentional about documenting every second, the amount of time I spent simply managing my business on Instagram, making a post responding to comments, liking comments, answering DMs was and this makes me physically ill but, in an effort, to be transparent was five minutes less per week that I spent engaging with my children makes you sick, right? I am I'm emotional now. But I was like a mess when I first did the minute counting. Because it doesn't feel like that much. I'm like, No, it's two minutes here. Three minutes there. 10 minutes here. 20 minutes here because I had a break. But all of those minutes. And Memphis is only almost four once. Isla is only almost nine once. How is it? That and it's not I love y'all. I love this community that's supporting me and listen to this podcast. I love my Instagram community. I love supporting teachers and helping them find their joy in their classroom. But at what cost? Like I have to be so much more intentional and careful about where I'm spending my time, how I'm spending my time and in doing that one activity. It's allowed me to be so much freer in my choice to rest when I choose to rest or my choice to read a story with Memphis when I choose to read a story with Memphis or my choice to lay down and snuggle him when he asked for snuggles at night, and not worry about, but I really gotta get started on this thing because it's your bedtime now. And now I can do this thing. No, like, you're not gonna ask for snuggles always. So, it helps me be more intentional. So, I love what you just shared to about your son and him almost graduated, I can't even how grown and how time flies. But oh, so important to be intentional. Okay, Claudia. Yeah. How are you being intentional? This, this break.
Claudia Elliott
I mean, I really need some help with this. Because I didn't know how to rest. Like, I never learned how to raise. I never saw my mom, really resting. My mom was the first one to go to college in her family. She took care of all her siblings and my grandparents. So, she is like, the value of hard work has been instilled in me like, I don't know how. And my mom was a teacher. So, I saw her watching TV and grading and papers, and doing phone calls and just doing you know, breakfasts and at the same time as talking to somebody about a project that she was involved with. So, for me, resting is really difficult that because of an end it was kind of like, glorified, like this hard work, nonstop was glorified, in my view was kind of like my identity. That's what I was worth it, because oh, she worked so hard. And I was glorified in that term. And then thanks for all the people like my friend Bertha, and you who have been super normalizing the importance of resting and mental health and like what we need to do, and that our identity cannot be a hardworking, I'm working all the time and cannot be glorified. I'm really reassessing plus my family, I have an incredible supporting family, but they need me, and I need to rest. So, what I find for me, that works is I need to work her like, if I have two weeks of break, I cannot say I'm gonna just have this as my rest and don't do anything, because I cannot live with that yet. So, what I do instead is I have I talked to my husband and said, Okay, so what are my hours. And when I do is I have an office that is outside my class or my house, and I put it in an envelope, a shed in my backyard. So, it's like my little building. I come here, and I'm working. And I put some time and is the time that I work. And when I'm here I'm working, I totally put my phone on air notifications. So, I'm not looking at my phone and my Facebook, or I'm the receiving. And then I allow myself to enjoy that moment. I put my music into my coffee, I record my podcasts, I work on my lessons, I brainstorm my ideas, and I put it and when it's done is done over and I don't look at it. So, when I'm in my house is not work for me is rest. So, my husband keeps me accountable. He is incredible. He's super supportive. But he gets really mad if I'm not present, because he allows me and my kids, my boys are super supportive. But when I'm with them watching a movie, they don't want me to watch to be looking at my phone, or taking a picture or thinking about it, or they want me to be there. So, for this week, I'm going to be working this week a lot because I'm going to be home. And then we leave to the mountains on Monday on the 26th. And then the part is I'm not taking my computer, so you're not taking your computer, you are just totally disconnecting. And I told my husband I don't think I can do that. And I said OKAY, so you have one hour in the mornings because I wake up earlier than everybody else. So, you have one hour in the morning to check in your phone and check something, but I have to be very intentional. I have to find accountability people I have to tell my husband you need to stop me. I have to tell my kids you need to make and come and knock on my door and say you told me at four, t's four, you need to live because I don't do it. I have it so heavy need and I was telling there that I'm having this vertigo and I have an envelope with tasks that I ordered, and I have to do that. And I really need to because at the end is like better than my son my oldest son has only two years and a half with me and then he's gonna go on college. And you never know like we're here today. We may not be here tomorrow like you Like, it's just like that. And, and, and, you know, when we got COVID I think when COVID. Can we all realize how fragile life is? No, life is fragile. It has always been. And we need to really take time to enjoy our life to enjoy ourselves. Because we're not just a teacher, we're moms, we're, we're humans, we, we have that identity. So, I'm really working hard on finding my identity. I mean, away from my job. So that's what I'm doing. I have to work. I just kind of like in me. But I put schedule, I have my family to find me accountable to say it's not okay. And then I'm so grateful for people like you. And when I'm there that speaks so loudly and so clearly about, yes, I'm wrestling. I'm not doing anything. I'm just unapologetic about it. I'm just doing it and it's so okay because that really helps teachers like me to feel. Okay, thank you for that permission. So, I can rest. So, it's really great to see that are there. Teachers like you that I admire that are my friends but, but you know, teachers are really, truly admire in my heart. So that bottle really helps me. So, thank you for that. And yeah, my rest is not perfect. It's our work in progress. But that's what I'm doing.
La Maestra Loca
I think it's perfect for you, I just want to correct you on that. I think your rest is perfect for you. And it sounds like you're doing all the right things by setting boundaries. And the one push I would have for you is you've got these accountability partners, you've got these like, boundaries that you're set setting. And even the boundary of work is happening in a specific place. I always tell people; they should do that. In fact, I'm breaking that rule right now I'm sitting on my couch. And normally I'm like, work does not happen. Like you should have a specific place and it doesn't interact with like your personal life space. But once you're you've had that accountability piece of like, okay, they're interrupting you and saying, Okay, it's been an hour or, okay, you're putting your phone down. And even if you're honoring that, I want you to go the next step and think about the next three hours that you're spending, doing whatever in the mountains, whether I don't know, if you're going to the snow or sledding or whatever you're doing, measuring the joy you feel in those moments. And thinking about, okay, stepping away from the work as hard as it is because of your, because what you've also acknowledged to us is it's part of your identity. It's how you've been raised, it's your culture, it's your family culture, it's your heritage, it's all looped into that so that it's okay to honor that piece of you. But what is the joy you're feeling in these moments of rest with your children, with your husband, with your friends, measuring that and going, oh, man, I that feels so great to me, to start to allow yourself to feel that more freely without the guilt attached of, but I'm not doing this. But I can't go on break without also working to slowly move to that more guilt free indulgence of true rest. Does that make sense?
Claudia Elliott
Absolutely. And I think it's such a great point. Because for so many years, I mean, you know, I don't know you, but I have had this thing that is hard for me that, you know, because it's the people that love me the most, right? Like my children, my family, they so I can be, you know, very giving with everybody and give my time with my community with my students and my work. Because it's kind of like what I do, but with my people, they want to love me the most unconditionally, no matter how imperfect I am, no matter how messy I am, how do you know just like how humanly imperfect and great I am. They know me. So, every time that I'm with them, I'm thinking about the things that I'm not doing for my other community. And that took away a lot from our joy. And I think that is what I'm reassessing right now is really, you know, it can be one hour, it can be two hours, it can be 15 minutes, but being with my family 100% present without thinking about the lesson plan that I didn't finish there and the test that I didn't grade, the email that I didn't stand for the parent, that the correction from something that I misspelled, the conference that I haven't prepared. So, when right now when I'm with my family, I'm really present enjoying that, even if it's not the eight hours or the five hours like they should like well should be the amount of time, but it's been being present with them without feeling guilty. because I'm not doing other things. So, that is what I am is not, you know, it is, is like better said is it's kind of like this growth that we always do. Like we're learning. We're growing, we're reassessing with a feeling guilty or shame because I'm not there yet. Or just been great because I see today something that I didn't see a year ago. Today, I see the importance of having this time for me, and the issue that I have with work and identity. And I didn't see that a year ago, I do what have told me, oh, Claudia, you're like, oh, I rest, no, or I don't know, I know, I know that I don't, and I know that I have is that I have to keep myself accountable with the people that love me the most. Otherwise, I can stay here working for 24/7 because I love it so much, which is a great thing, right? Like, I love what I do, which is amazing. And I'm so it's a privilege that No, I mean, like not everybody has it, to love so much what they do, but at the same time, knowing that mentally, physically, emotionally, I need the other parts. So that's what I am just trying to enjoy these two weeks.
La Maestra Loca
Thank you for being so vulnerable and sharing. Before we go, I would love for you both to share how people can connect with you further. If this is the first time I'd be surprised if it's their first time hearing about either of you but just in case how they can connect with you. How can they learn from you more? Because both of you are so very insightful and such powerful mentors to have on this language teaching journey. Bertha, how can people connect with you or find you? You're on mute, but I love you.
Bertha Delgadillo
Yes, I am on mute. You would think I would not be on mute by now. Yes, I'm pretty easy to find. You can find me as professora Delgadillo on Instagram and Facebook, YouTube and on my blog and also as professora Delgadillo on Twitter. I don't know how much longer I'll be on Twitter, but for now we're there.
La Maestra Loca
And Claudia.
Claudia Elliott
So, you can find me in Instagram and Facebook at Claudia M Elliot, I also have a private Facebook community that is called Growing with CI that anybody can join. And I just got my podcast and is Growing with Proficiency, The Podcast, and my blog is growing with proficiency dot com so you can find me anywhere there. Yay.
La Maestra Loca
Thank you both so much for sharing and for being vulnerable in the challenges of taking rest because it is challenging, especially as all three of us are business owners and we have jobs outside of our school lives. It's hard to take the rest that we really really need and acknowledge that we are deserving of that rest. Because we are and so I hope that both of you get the rest of you deserve this season and for all of you listening, I am so grateful for you. Thank you for doing what you do every day and until next time, we will be not teaching la vida loca because we will be resting. But very soon in January we will be back to teaching la vida loca and we'll talk to you real soon.
Claudia Elliott
Bye bye