The actual dream

 Last week, one of my students pulled out a small black notebook and said, "I am writing a story.  Can I read the first chapter to the class?"

Absolutely!

He is a great kid.  He is popular for all the best reasons.  He is nice to everyone.  He read his first chapter and it was delightful.  It was about a seventh grader who was so late for school, he missed recess.  I didn't have the heart to tell him that you don't have recess in seventh grade.

The teacher in his story says a lot of the same phrases I say and the hero's classmates have the same names as our class.

I loved it.  I told him that when he is a grown up author, I will buy his books on Amazon.

A girl said, "I want to write a chapter book too!"

Then she turned to me and said, "I will write a chapter book if you will."

I said OK.

She said, "Seriously.  Will you write one?"

I said yes.

Then she said she didn't have a notebook, so I brought her one from home.

She happily took the notebook, opened to the first page and said, expectantly, "OK, now I need an idea...."

I told her she was on her own for that one.

I started writing my "chapter book." QE is the heroine and she is third grade age.  They listen, spellbound, when I read the chapters to them.

Yesterday the boy author and the girl author and I all had more chapters to read.

I sat back at my desk and watched my two students stand confidently in front of the class to read their writing.  I saw the rest of the class listen intently to their stories.  

I thought, this is it.  This is everything!