I am grateful for...

My Mom
The woman is a phenomenon. Seriously...  she is the phenomemom! Really. Today, while Vinny was at school, she picked up balloons  at Rite Aid and blew them up to have around the house so that they could have a "party." She had a grandma grandkid party with the kids all afternoon. They had party music, ate party snacks, and played party games, all afternoon.

When Marc and I came home at 6, she had the dinner hot and ready and the house completely clean (except for the balloons, which she left around for a few more days of fun, I suppose).

My mom is amazing, and I am so grateful for the ways she makes my life easier.

Barb
Barb is one of my best friends. Most Mondays and some Saturdays, we hit the gym together. Sometimes we do yoga, and other times we cardio, depending our energy level. We pretty much always close with the hot tub. She also teaches English at a high school nearby. In a couple of hours of time, we vent, plan lessons, reflect on our teaching, problem solve each other's areas of concern about student learning, and come up with neat ideas for projects. We share our triumphs and tribulations without judgment or jealousy.

My friendship with Barb has convinced me that most of the world's problems could probably be solved over a half hour conversation on the treadmill and an hour in the jacuzzi.

Students Who Say Thanks and Students Who Make Me Proud
UC schools sent out their acceptances last week. Many of my students got in to UCLA, which is the dream school for most of my students. Three students in my advisory got in (one is holding out for Stanford's decision, but the other two are definitely going).  The other two came to me today to tell me thank you, that they couldn't have done it without me. I cannot tell you how good that made me feel. The senior English teacher gets a lot of comments like this, but I don't really work very closely with the seniors, so I do not get these comments very often.

Because I have a senior advisory this year, I spent hours in the fall helping these students with their personal statements, especially because I knew how much these students deserved this opportunity and how much it would change their lives. Both of these girls are from very low income families and will be the first of their families to go to college. This experience is going to completely change their lives.
I am so grateful for students who make me proud to be a teacher and remind me why I do what I do... and even have the hearts to thank me for my effort.

Some of these awesome kids will be Bruins this fall.  :-)