One More Time With ENTHUSIASM!!!

“A man can succeed at almost anything for which he has unlimited enthusiasm.” 

Charles Schwab

Intense and eager enjoyment, interest or approval

I am one of those annoyingly enthusiastic people.  I’m the crazy fan that still sings and claps to Peter, Paul and Mary while everyone else is rolling their eyes.  I’m the person that will still believe in you when everyone else has called it a day.  I really had to become a school counselor, a life coach and an author…there really was no other way!    

Because I have runaway enthusiasm, it was sad to me entering a Preschool classroom with a huge group of four-year-olds (which is any number higher than three) and being met with no enthusiasm.  It happened to me last week.  I decided to start off our school year with a rousing can-can dance to a little ditty written to the original tune by Jacques Offenbach, with words that ask, “Can, Can, Can you pay attention, do I have to mention, all the times you didn’t listen…”  Needless to say, this is a dance based on fierce enthusiasm when presented to sixth graders, but the four-year-olds said, “I’m too tired” and “I don’t want to” (spoken with the distinct whine that only Preschoolers can manage) in spite of my annoying passion and persistence.  I figure this was as good a way as any to initiate the little ones into the whacky world of school counseling.  I know that by Kindergarten they’ll be used to me.  Until then, I can’t wait to see what they do with the Chicken Dance!

Have you ever had one of those great ideas that set your heart on fire?  Maybe you were so excited that you immediately told a family member or a best friend?  You conveyed all the enthusiasm that you could muster…and someone deflated you faster than a beach ball in a cactus garden.  It might have felt like twenty four-year-olds flopped on a mat.

Where did all that enthusiasm go?  Why do we abandon it so quickly?  And why do we set ourselves up for the ultimate POP of our excitement bubble by sharing with people who are dream killers? 

Many people spend a lot of time waiting to be overtaken by enthusiasm, but the harsh truth is that enthusiasm is a choice.  You can catch someone else’s enthusiasm like an elusive butterfly, but you’ll lose it quickly if you don’t make the choice to hold on to it.  No one can douse your enthusiasm, not even a class of sluggish Preschoolers, unless you make the choice to let the fire go out.

Every morning when my eyes open, I have a choice to make.  Am I going to live this day with enthusiasm?  Will this be an exciting day or will I decide to make it an ordinary one? When I get to work, I plant myself at the front door where I clap and cheer when I see each child coming into school.  It’s not just my job to ignite excitement and joy for them to be at Anderson Elementary, it’s my passion.  I still see some grumpy, tired faces, but I see a lot more smiles and children running toward me with their arms outstretched, ready to meet their day, thrilled that someone, even the annoyingly enthusiastic counselor, is excited to see them.

A mother stopped me in the hall this morning and shared something with me. She said, “My son told me that you were the only reason he enjoys coming to school every day.”  And I knew that I am making the right choice!

“If you don't love what you do, you won't do it with much conviction or passion.”

Mia Hamm

Recipe for Passion Fruit Pannacota 

(For when you’re choosing PASSION!)

300 ml pouring cream

260 gm (270ml) natural yogurt

4 Tbsp honey

2 3/4 titanium strength gelatine leaves (approx. 3 3/4 tsp of powdered gelatine) softened in cold water

Seeds from 1 vanilla pod

PASSIONFRUIT SYRUP

4 passionfruit, pulp only (or canned)

50 gm castor (berry) sugar

Juice from 1/2 lime

1/4 cup water

Special equipment: 150-200 ml Dariole or panna cotta moulds

Preparation:

1.      Very lighlty grease the dariole moulds with a little vegetable oil on a paper towel.

2.      Whisk the cream and yogurt together in a large bowl until smooth. Set aside.

3.      Bring honey and vanilla seeds to a simmer in a small saucepan. Squeeze excess water from gelatine and add it to the honey -- stir to dissolve.

4.      Stir honey mixture through the yogurt mixture, then divide among four lightly greased dariole moulds. Refrigerate until set (4-5 hours - or even overnight).

5.      Make the passionfruit syrup. Combine ingredients together in a small saucepan. Simmer over a medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the liquid becomes syrupy. Set aside to cool.

6.      Just before serving, dip bases of panna cotta moulds in warm water for a few seconds, turn out onto serving plates and spoon on the passionfruit syrup. Serve immediately.