a great partnership.

i've dreamed of being a teacher since i was 7.

man was i a fool.

no really, teaching is an honorable profession, for most of us. i enjoy being with my kids, most days. by this time of year, i am not ready to let them go. when i let these kids leave my room for the last time, i will cry. this year's class is really special to me. their leaving will affect me in more ways than one.

in august, i will get a brand new class of rookies. i will have to start the training process all over again. i am big on routines and these kids have them all down. they can basically function without me here...sort of. but beginning next year, i'll have a room full of new babies. babies that will have to be taught to read. taught to try. taught to not give up. taught to know that i believe in them, even if it takes them 17 tries before they figure out the word "lake" (an actual account).

teaching is a hard job and there are many days when i wonder what on earth i'm doing in this profession. i sometimes email with my fellow teacher friends as we try and make it through. however, there are some days that make it totally worth it. there are the occassional days where i sit back with a huge smile and sigh, "oh yea...this is why. this is what i signed up for."

thank God for days like that.

this morning, the one student that drvies me crazy most days, brought me an apple. she waited patiently by my desk while i had the usual early morning onslaught of Miss Henry's this and Miss Henry's that. when the crowd moved away, she stood there with a sweet smile on her face and a big band-aid on her arm which i put there yesterday. she grinned up and me and proudly handed me a small, shiny green, granny smith apple. of course, my eyes lit up and i gave her a huge, excited hug. i told her thank you in the most enthusiastic way i know how. i took that granny smith apple and placed it proudly on my desk. i made her day, and she made mine.

i know she'll ask me later if i'm going to eat that apple during snack time and i will respond excitedly with "Are you kidding me? I can't wait to eat that apple at snack time!" she will smile again and be proud of the fact that i appreciated her gift so much. i know the routine too. ;)

today, with this apple on my desk, i will be reminded that this is why. this is why i am here. to make a difference in children's lives. to be the one they think of when they are at home and see an apple on their mother's table. i am here, to let them know they are loved, and...i guess that is why they are here, to let me know i am loved.

it's a really great partnership.