Fantastic Friday

I greet my students every day with what we call "The Morning Message." It usually begins with

Good Morning, Class,

and usually ends with,

Love,
Ms. Avila

and in between I inform the kids what we'll be doing today, complete with transition words and usually at least one instance of alliteration.

Have a merry Monday...terrific Tuesday...wonderful Wednesday...thankful Thursday...fantastic Friday...

You get the idea.

All that to explain the title of this post.

And now perhaps a little more illumination on today's events will help further explain why today was fantastic.

1. It was my first day as an auntie.

PC: My mom, ntbka (now to be known as) "Grandma"

Little Brynn Loree Avila was born last night, weighing in at 8 pounds, 0 ounces. She got to be my first experience holding a newborn. My brother Armando got to show me how.

The only down-side to her birth is that my sister-in-law Lisa is still recovering from her C-section delivery. :( Not fun.

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2. This is funny.

Earlier today, my mom was searching for my little brother, Oliver. She searches in the house, in the yard, in the driveway...where could he be?

You know where she found him? Curled up, asleep, with Pepsi (our dog)... in the doghouse!

I wish I had a picture of this. It gives a whole new meaning to the saying "in the doghouse."

For another funny anecdote, be sure to read Bek's latest Funny Friday.

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3. You know how, when someone's gone, people all of a sudden start saying nice things about them?

Like, "She was always so nice."
Or, "He always found a way to make me laugh."

Well, now that my one-year teaching contract is almost up, I kind of feel like that person who is gone...or leaving.

People I've known and related with all year are beginning to say,
"Oh, you've done such a great job."
"We hope we can keep you."

And it's really encouraging! But - who am I kidding? I really have had a wealth of support and encouragement this entire school year, from friends, family, and colleagues -- even parents of my students, and the students themselves...

This lovely daffodil graced my desk a couple of weeks ago. I asked around to identify the gifter, but I found out zilch. So I just enjoyed it. [I've discovered I love receiving flowers.]

...which is one of the reasons I love the school I am at...and one of the reasons I am so grateful to God for His goodness...and one of the reasons I have, as of today, applied for a continuing position at this school!

What next year will bring, only God knows. He clearly opened the doors for me to be where I am right now, and I know He'll be faithful to continue guiding me according to His will.

Lead on, Lord.

And that was my fantastic Friday.

Sunny Saturday

I intended to follow in my friend Bek's footsteps and post a Funny Friday, BUT Friday was full of everything but blogging, so that didn't happen.

However, I do have a funny moment to share on this sunny Saturday.

One day last week, during lunch, I sat down at a cafeteria table with some of my students. It wasn't long before the conversation turned to Valentine's Day.

"Teacher, are we going to have a Valentine's Day party?" asked Ariana.

"Yeah, are we?" chimed in three other girls.

I hesitated. I've been wondering about that myself, ever since I resolved to celebrate only national holidays in my classroom. Valentine's Day, like Halloween, is wide-spread but NOT a national holiday by any means.

But there was an idea I was mulling over, so I asked, "Why do we celebrate Valentine's Day?"

"Becuase!" exclaimed Ariana. "It's the month of LOOOOVVVEE!" The other girls giggled. Then, she turned to me and asked, "Well, why do we celebrate Christmas?"

"Becuase it's Jesus' birthday!" spouted Tori.

"Why do we celebrate Easter?" someone else asked.

"Becuase it's Jesus' birthday!" repeated Tori.

"Again?" The girls giggled.

"NO!" said Tori. "Easter is Jesus' birthday, and Christmas is GOD's birthday!"

And that settled it. The girls went happily back to eating their lunch, and I coud hardly contain myself! Such misconceptions they have!

I want to capture more of these moments, be it on a Funny Friday or a Sunny Saturday, or Mundane Monday, or whenever! Too often I let these moments slip by, and then I forget them!

Oh, and, you might still be wondering if we are going to celebrate Valentine's Day. Well, I left that up to them. "If you do the research, and present your research - with sources - to the class about what Valentine's Day is about, and then if you convince me that we should celebrate it in class... then, we can have a party."

What do you think? Typical teacher answer? Yeah, that's what I thought. I'll let you know what their research turns up.