Sunday, September 23, 2007

Things That Made Me Smile This Week

Since it seems that, completely against my will, I'm becoming a once-a-week blogger, I thought it would be nice to share some of the highlights of my week.
I'm smiling because . . .
. . . I've finally finished the last of my felted purses. They're in the washer felting as we speak. These two are for moms of two of my last year's students. They wanted to buy the purses at my school's Relay for Life table a few weeks ago, but others beat them to them.
Now that I've finished them, I can get on with other things. I actually picked up my mitered square blanket and started a new miter. What I really need to start knitting are baby sweaters and blankets. Quite a few of my teacher friends are having babies - again. We had a rush on babies last year, and now they're at it again.

. . . I love my new couch. As I'm heading out to my car at the end of the school day, I'm picturing the big, comfy cushions waiting for me. Emmie loves it, too.


. . . My DVR is working beautifully, recording more hours of television than I can possiblly watch. We've got, The View, Oprah, Dr. Phil, Survivor, Diagnosis X, LA Ink, Lil' Bush, Larry King Live, Prison Break, The Soup . . . the list goes on and on. The list will only get longer now that all of the new fall shows are starting. I love me some good TV!

. . . My boy is loving high school. He's pops out of bed every morning, goes to school happy, comes home happy, and looks forward to the next day. He's staying on top of his homework (so far) and he's keep his room neat and tidy. Okay, I lied about that last one. We won't talk about the macaroni and cheese bowl hidden in his desk drawer.

. . . I have a mad crush on M.'s Algebra II teacher. I went to Open House at the high school and went through M.'s schedule to each of his classes. I thought all of his teachers were great, but the math guy just really made an impression. Cute and fun. (When I told M. that I had a crush on his math teacher, he said, "Ma, he has 3 kids." "So what," I said. "I like kids.") What I didn't like so much was the cleavage on the Spanish teacher, and the large tattoo on her left boob that we could all see way too much of. Emmie has a plan to get to check out the teachers for herself:

. . . One of my little darling 3rd graders showed me that she really pays attention to what I say. When giving directions for our very first math test of the year, I asked the children, "When you finish the test, and you've written your last answer, what's the next thing you should do?" One of the teacher-pleasers raised his hand and said, "Check it over." That's what I was looking for. I made a big deal of writing on the white board: aCHECK IT OVER! After finishing her test, the above-mentioned little darling took out her blue magic marker and checked it over. Here's the first page:

Here's the 2nd page. Notice she's making her version of my "correct" marks:


Stick with me. It gets better. Here's Page 3, with some happy words:

And my all-time favorite kid-produced piece of work, the last page with some encouraging praise:
I almost cried when I read this. It was just too cute. Not only has she been listening to all of the confidence-boosting this I say to her, but she's been paying attention during the math lessons. She really did a fantastic job. Here's what I, the teacher, wrote on her test:

The final smile came on Friday, when I finally left school as the sun was setting. I stayed late to get organized and ready for next week. When I got in the car, I decided to take the scenic route home. I headed down the road that runs along the water - the road I avoid only because the traffic light at the end of it always keeps me sitting way too long. I figured I was in no great rush and I could enjoy the view.

And what a view it was.

That's Charles Island, out in Long Island Sound. It's rumored that Captain Kidd visited the island long ago and buried his treasure.

And here is the real smile-maker . . .

Pink sky over the water. This is the town in which I live and work. I'm so lucky. People go on vacations to places that look like this. I should take the long way home more often.

4 comments:

WifeMomKnitter said...

It looks like you went home by way of Gulf Beach. It is really pretty. You have the cutest students.

Hunny said...

I know people who have been stuck on Charles Island after walking out there at low tide. It's such a nice beach.

Anonymous said...

You ARE a lucky girl! :o)

Anonymous said...

You are a talented writer, especially of dialog. Your pictures of the sunsets made me smile, too! Lucky students to have you teaching them. :) B