Happilist

I am sitting here in my classroom, looking out the window. Yesterday, twenty-one students were here with me. Today I am alone. My return was reluctant. I slept late, visited with friends, then wandered slowly... finally...through the school's front doors. There is much still to do ~ student records to be updated, books to organize, and materials to be gathered and taken home for the long process of planning for the next academic year. Summer vacation has begun, and so have my thoughts on next year. It is difficult for me to slow down my contemplation on curriculum and learning, on sharing with young students and allowing them to be my best teachers. Summer is my season to reflect, regroup, and again to respond to the call of my heart. I have so much I still don't understand about learning and teaching. After all, I'm really just an overgrown first grader myself. The day I convince myself I know it all, I promise: I'll quit my job as a teacher. I hope each and every teacher my own children encounter will vow the same. “Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study. Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life.” ~Henry L. Doherty This is one of my favorite quotes. It drives my professional life. It defines the passion in my personal pursuits. Sigh. And here I am...still [just] sitting by this window...

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Some of you have asked if I'm okay. I think today my answer is, "No. That's boring." (Boy, do I love that response!) But I am in a better mood (thanks for asking). I've been told I'm dramatic. I think maybe it's just that my creativity thrives on heightened sensory perceptions [see the post entitled 'Crayons'] and a roller coaster with an emotional bent. As capable as I am of hiding behind a wall, I also have a tendency at times to wear my heart on my sleeve. Recent posts have been a reflection of that. It looks like today I've changed my shirt!

...I've also changed my mind. I indicated previously that House Finches are building a nest on my porch. Upon closer inspection today, I realized this is untrue. I'm admitting it. I was wrong. I don't admit that often. I have no idea why I didn't pay better attention before! I know House Finch eggs. These look nothing like them! I am very careful to avoid the nest when I water the flowers. The birds become quite nervous when I'm near, and it was their chatter that made me really notice the eggs. The chatter wasn't that of finches at all. I bet you know which birds are talking in my front yard!* * * * *

Twenty years ago I gave my sister a book entitled 14,000 Things to be Happy About by Barbara Ann Kipfer. Taking this cue, I think I'll fight my pessimistic inclinations by counting the many blessings in my life. I'm wondering... Can I reach 1,000 before summer vacation's end? I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!

My Happilist
i.am.sanders
Gratitude is the heart's memory. ~French proverb

1. God's grace
2. a family that loves me, I think (on most days anyway)
3. words, so many words to play with
4. the smell of rain
5. riding backroads with the wind in my hair
6. roses blooming in my yard
7. fireflies
8. lunch invitations for two or a few
9. dried flowers tied with a grosgrain ribbon
10. the sound of "Mommy"
11. the smells of new crayons, Play Doh, and especially mown grass
12. Abercrombie and Fitch Classic perfume
13. books...the sweetest gifts
    
14. patriotism, made more precious by the fact that it appears in short supply
15. historic preservation
16. Grandma Bea's chocolate pie
17. homemade biscuits and gravy
18. the Smoky Mountains...heaven on earth
19. brown eyes
20. thunder and lightening
21. McKie Roth Designs
22. the intellect of Harper Lee...To Kill a Mockingbird is a sermon.
23. cumulus clouds floating on a backdrop of blue
24. reruns of Bewitched
25. visiting the Farmer's Market...the colors, the tastes, the smells
26. the atmosphere of Trolley's
27. Mom's sugar cookies
28. notes that I find on my desk before I leave school on this first day of summer break..."I love you so much, Mrs. Green, and will miss you. You deserve an A+." So do you, Ella. So do you.

to be continued, of course...