Grateful Friday

Last night Adam asked me how my day had been.

I said, "Picture Mark when he was 8.  Add Gavin.  Now add the triplets.  Now double that."

Adam said, "Is that your class?"

It is.  I have ten very busy, very energetic, very sweet boys with little impulse control.  When we do something active, it does not get the proverbial wiggles out.  It amps them up.

Before we went to our little overview of rules with the principal, I had them do some deep breathing to calm them down.  I explained to them that by breathing deeply, you can trick your body into being calm.

One boy piped up, "Our bodies can hear you!  They aren't going to be tricked!"

Yesterday was better because of the new seating chart.  I checker-boarded all the chatty talkers with the more quiet kids, but here's the thing:  some chatty talkers are infectious.  They're contagious like Covid.  The boy who wouldn't talk above a whisper at the Back to School night was seated next to a super chatty guy, and guess whose shyness is cured?

After school I was talking to some of the aides about doing some testing with some of my students.  They saw my class list and said, "How did these kids all end up in the same class?!?"

Good question!

I'll keep trying.

Also, I really love it.  It is energizing and fulfilling.  And also, they have my heart.  They bring me flowers after recess.  A few of the girls have given me hugs at the end of the day.  All the way up to sixth graders at the school are my former students and yesterday a sixth grader stopped me in the hall (and so stopped my little class too) so she could give me a hug.  I told her she was all grown up and so pretty and she beamed and continued on her way.

One of my little girls was anxious because her stepmom was picking her up and she didn't know where she was supposed to meet her.  I told her I would help.  She asked me multiple times during the day if I remembered that I was going to help her.  I did.  "I will," I said.

At dismissal time, she came up to me, huge backpack dwarfing her.  She had a grim, but determined, look on her face.  She took my hand and we faced the pick up time together.  She worried over and over about where she was supposed to be.  I reassured her over and over.  "We'll find her.  Don't worry."

She saw the car finally and the unsmiling woman (why can't I just take them home with me?).  Her shoulders dropped in relief and she threw her arms around me.  

"Thank you Teacher!"

Being just a little bit of help and security in their lives fills me up.

And makes me tired.

More things I'm grateful for:

• I don't have rheumatoid arthritis.  Just regular-town old lady arthritis.
• I love walking with Clarissa.  Sometimes her foreign exchange student joins and I enjoy it.
• I love my limited but precious time with my boys (Adam and Mark).
• I love FaceTime with my other boy and his girl.  Have you ever watched a video of a baby trying her first cereal?  Twice?  She's that cute.