Adventures in Tutoring Daily Challenge – Day 28

Now, I’m not sure when you’re reading this, but I didn’t finish this blog post until late in the evening. Honestly, this whole week of blog posts was done at night, because it’s just been that kind of a week. A full week of things to keep me plenty busy to where I couldn’t get to my morning blogging. (I tend to be flowing on all cylinders earlier in the day, so morning time is my sweet spot for writing activity.)

As the day goes on, my creative energy tends to wane. And, that’s so strange, because evening creative juices were flowing freely back in the day  (not so very long ago). 

So, nighttime blogging is not my preference. But, I’m committed to seeing this blogging daily challenge through til the very end. November 27th, here I come!

I wish I had some thought-provoking content to bring to you this evening, but I don’t. It’s just too late in the day. However, I do want to report the exciting work that took me up to the closing time of my neighborhood post office to accomplish. The post office closes at 5:30p. Of course, I got in with about 6 or 7 minutes to spare. I had one package that needed a priority mail large box, and so I couldn’t get its contents ready to ship until I got that box from the post office.

You should have seen me. I was a hot mess. I was at the table assembling all the items in the box, inserting the bubble wrap in there to cushion everything and keep it from moving around, putting tape on the outside edges of the box, and praying that the postal workers at the desk wouldn’t kick me out.

In all seriousness, I knew they wouldn’t kick me out. That group is top-notch in customer service . . . just good people. And, I did make it in the doors before 5:30p. They don’t boot you out if you get there before closing — even if closing happens while you’re still there. Which was the case. I was their very last customer today, and I probably didn’t get out the post office doors until 5:40p.

I underestimated the amount of time it would take to gather all the items for the packages and get them out the door. I worked practically all afternoon on getting everything together. 

I felt bad being so last minute and holding people up, but I felt so relieved that I made it and that the packages went out. After all, the precious cargo being transported by USPS was prepared with joy and sealed with love. The packages are going to the children — the ones I tutor and mentor. 

I mean . . . I promised the children these packages would go out this week, and I couldn’t let them down. I knew I wouldn’t be able to go to the post office on Friday, so today was the day. And, pulling everything together just took some time. 

Contents included:

• Items that were ready-made at home.
• Items that needed to be made at home.
• Items I needed to purchase at the store.
• Items I needed to have printed off at FedEx Office.

And everything needed to be packaged and mailed by USPS. So, it was kind of a non-stop action type of day because I waited til the end of the day to get all the things ready to mail to eight children. Basically, the chaos and overwhelm were of my own doing.

But, I survived. And, look at the end result:

The packages are in the mail and heading to the children!

If all goes well, the packages should get to their final destinations early next week. Whoo! Hoo!

I feel so good about keeping my word to the children I serve. I was going to do just about everything I could to make it (the delivery of the packages to the post office) happen. And, I know the children will enjoy the goodies in the packages. All good stuff to either educate, inspire, and/or entertain.

Shall we call the “good stuff” INCENTIVES? Yes, we shall. I managed to drop off incentives to provide enjoyable and engaging moments of learning, to act as catalysts to help get my tutees and mentees in the mode and mood to receive and interact with educational instruction, and to reward children for a “job well done.