Here we go!

 Today's the big day:  first day of school!  I am excited and a little nervous.  Mostly excited.  My class is so cute and I have everything shiny and new and I am ready.

Yesterday was finishing touches day.  They tested the fire alarms, they are still in the throes of the construction project so at one point, they gave us a five minute warning they were turning off the water and we all ran for the bathroom.  They worked outside all day cleaning off the blacktop outside my classroom which is where my students are supposed to line up.  Here's hoping they finished that!  We were supposed to email if our phones don't work and mine doesn't work, but I'm totally fine if it doesn't work.  When I am in the middle of teaching and someone from the office calls me, I usually ignore it anyway and they end up talking to me over the intercom.  

I don't know in what world you can turn your back on 3rd graders and just talk on the phone!

Riley thinks our Forever In Third Grade pictures look like we're memorializing third graders who died.  As in he asked, "Why do you have pictures of dead children on your wall?!?"

What?  Why would we do that?  Riley also makes up idioms that I would share just to give you the flavor of that guy, but they aren't exactly for polite company.

He is a character.  Yesterday I overheard him walking down the hall, telling his crew of custodians which teachers he likes and which teachers he doesn't like.  When he passed my room, he said, "I like Davis."

Friends, that was hard fought.

I had two to do lists, one I for sure for sure had to do yesterday and one that would be nice to get to.  I did everything on the first list and almost everything on the second list.

The biggest accomplishment of the day was that when a black pen exploded and I had a hand covered in ink, none got on my white pants.  A day of miracles.

Matt recommended we go to lunch with our teams, since it was our last day we could.  Alissa said, "Let's invite fifth grade."

I went to arrange the playdate and Caroline said, "OK, but don't invite anyone else."

I said, "So you're one of those people, huh?"

She said, "No, I didn't mean that.  I shouldn't have said that."

But it was just us who went to lunch together.  We went to Marley's and Lacey told us her engagement story that happened a few days ago and we compared notes on how everything was going.

At 2:00 we all convened for cake in Caroline's room because she made a cake (and she invited everyone because she isn't after all one of those people).  Three boys who are now in 7th grade, but who love Caroline because everyone does, knocked on her door and she let them in and they ate some cake too.

I think my takeaway is that being an elementary teacher is where it is at. 

You can have your cake and eat it too.