Blessings

      I mentioned before that I have early morning duty every few weeks.  This was my first time out in the cold weather (and I know it is going to be colder later on in the year).  I have never "done" the cold very well.  So the past week was . . .  uh, less than pleasant.  I am trying to see the positive in everything this year - it is a personal challenge.  One I really needed after the last few years.  So . . . how do I find a positive in shivering?  It's hard.  It got even harder on the day it was not only cold but rainy.  Then I looked up.

      Is that not a beautiful, miraculous sight?  The brushstrokes of my Creator are so evident.  I stood and watched as the sky began to lighten and realized that just seeing this sight, being able to see this sight was positive enough.  I am so blessed.
    Two really great comment came my way this week. They both made my day and filled it with sunshine.  One of the moms who walk her daughter came by and stopped to chat with me on the sidewalk.  I taught her when she was in third grade.  She said they - her and her daughter - had been talking the night before and she told M that one of the things she remembered from being in my room was a book that I had read, The Indian In the Cupboard.  That book has been a favorite of mine for a long time and usually becomes one of my classroom favorites.  But there is something very nice about being remembered for a book!  Thank you, SWH, for my special memory.
    Another book I love (love, love, love!) is The Cajun Night Before Christmas.   It is absolutely great fun to read.  The accent is awesome and the tale itself is great.  We were in class and one of my fifth graders asked if I remembered a student by the name of JB?  The name brought a smile and a few memories.  She said he was her dad.  She told me he asked her to ask me if I still read that book with the funny voice, "you know, the Christmas one".  My answer - as many times as I can find a group to read it to.  When it gets to be Christmas, I have parents stop by my room to find out when I will be reading it! 
     Ah books . . . . I really want my kids to fall in love with them.  I struggle to put phonics and literature in as much of my 50 minutes each day as I can.