Grateful Friday

Thelma may remove my administrator access for posting on her blog, but I’ll take the risk. Because today I went to her blog as I normally do mid-morning only to find that she still hasn’t posted since Tuesday.

Can you blame her? She has had to fit a summer’s worth of preparation into a precious few days. Even I know that equation doesn’t balance out.  Time < Things

(I must have inequalities on my brain. Thelma asked me to help her grade assignments last night. The students were presented with two numbers and had to determine whether to use the less than, greater than, or equals sign. Which is greater? 691 or 961? I’m not sure if the assignment was checking for math skills or dyslexia. A few of the questions were cruel like that.)

The stress, to-do lists, sleep, worries, bureaucratic rigamarole… That’s all going to come and go. But one thing that will be constant is how much Thelma loves to teach children. She came home from school on Wednesday after her first full day teaching her new class with a giant smile on her face and light all about her.

Teaching is Thelma’s gift, calling, and joy. All of us have all three, although not everyone understands their gifts, accepts their calling, or finds joy in their work. But when all three come together in someone, it’s a brilliant thing to watch.

So, on my Grateful Friday, I’m grateful I get to bask in the glow of someone who loves and gives so willingly to bless the lives of other people. I’m grateful that I’m in Mrs. Davis’s class and that for me, at least, school will never be out.