My Thursday's are incredibly long days, beginning with my first class at 7:30 am and ending at 4 pm after a final composition lesson. In between, I teach five different classes and two lessons. The good news? Unlike Wednesday's, I actually have 30 minutes for lunch! The thing that makes this tiring day tolerable is knowing that it is the end of my work week. And, I have some awesome students.
No one really wants to take (or teach) a 7:30 am class, but to get it all done, this is the way the schedule has to be, so we make the best of it and do whatever we have to do...arrive at school with a great big cup of coffee!
This morning, one of my students came skipping into class at about 7:28 with a big smile on her face and pronounced, "I am so happy this morning; I am winning at life." Whenever someone says something like this I always go through a quick analysis of their expression to determine whether they are speaking truth or sarcasm. In this case, I was fairly sure it was truth, but I asked her just to make sure. She said that she was glad that she was on time and really enjoyed being in the class. How can you not have a good day when it begins like this? I woke up with a sore throat and the feeling that a cold was trying to take over my body. This student's enthusiasm and good cheer made me forget about the fact that I wasn't feeling 100% and pushed me to give her my 100% so that she left class still feeling as though she was winning at life.
My day had an equally good ending. Thursday has become "diner dinner night." We have gotten into a routine of meeting a small group of friends almost every Thursday night at our local diner. It is a true diner experience-juke box and love meter in the entry way; burgers, fries, and all-day breakfast; and servers that know all the regulars (that would be us) and bring our drinks as soon as we walk in the door, no ordering necessary Most of us order the exact same meal every Thursday night. That s part of the routine. We catch up on each other's week, roll our eyes over the current state of politics in this country, solve as many of the world's problems as we can in a couple of hours, and mostly enjoy the friendship that we share. Oh, and we have dessert. Diner dinner is the only dinner during the week that includes dessert. For me that is banana pudding. This too is part of the routine. The partners that we are, we close the place down at 9pm.
Neither having a student who feels that she is winning at life or a Thursday night diner dinner may make the list of what makes most people happy, but both are exactly what bring joy to my world. Knowing that what I do as a teacher causes even one student to feel good about herself and having wonderful friends who enjoy simply being together are both, for me, awesome things! If only more people realized that it is really the little things that are the big things in life...
Today's photo prompt was "With A Ball." This is what you get when you take your photo at 10pm...after diner dinner. It's all about priorities!
