December Joy

Assignment:
Make a poster of someone who shows the traits of an Inquirer

I had a student tell me last week, "You laugh a lot." In that moment I was laughing because our carpool line was being asked to shift down, yet again. Space feels tight because we are tasked with keeping our students three feet apart in the carpool line. I had felt a bit of frustration rising as we were being asked to make do with even less space, but then realized everyone was feeling the same way. I opted to laugh at the silliness of the situation. The necessity of keeping 200+ kids spaced three feet apart but not too close to the cars coming in to pick them up is a ridiculous situation... laughable even. My husband and I adopted this response to minor frustrations when we were foster parents. We'd tell each other, "If I wasn't laughing, I'd be crying." Finding the humor in minor frustrations makes it much easier to tolerate them.

We have had several teachers out on Friday, most taking professional development required to work at an International Baccalaureate World School. One of the subs in the building was a Sister, who is at least in her 70s. She was walking into classrooms during her breaks with a paper snowflake hanging from her glasses and asking kids if she had on the right kind of mask. (She had a paper face mask on underneath it as well.) There is nothing quite like seeing an elderly Sister walking around the hallways with a paper snowflake hanging off of her glasses. I'm still smiling.

My students loved the thank-you cards I had them write the week before Thanksgiving. Some of them have already brought in donations so we can write thank-yous weekly. This week I recieved four cards from my students. One very earnestly told me to be sure to check my "teacher box thing in the office" as she was leaving for the day. All four of the cards were sincere and tugged at my heartstrings. But one made me laugh out loud with the message: "I am veary thankful for having a teacher that is veary dead set on teaching us."

This weekend was report card weekend. Having the thank-you cards to look at sustained me when my eyes went blurry from looking at the screen for too many hours in a row. Even though writing report card comments is tiring, there's joy there too. It's fun to reflect on each child's progress in each subject. It reminds me of how privileged I am to have a small part in so many children's lives.

There is joy everywhere. I hope I can always spy it lurking nearby. I know it's there if I look for it. I hope I always remember to look for it.