end of week thoughts

Just a few things I want to write down so I can remember some other day:

• Today I did something I don't think I've ever done- I confronted someone about something I thought was unprofessional and inappropriate. I stood up for a student.  It was HARD for me to do- way more than you know- but I did it.  Might not have done it well, but I did it.  May cause me problems later, but I did it.  I felt so proud of myself that I pushed myself past a roadblock in my personal growth! 

• One of my kids lost a tooth this week.  She forgot to take her tooth home that afternoon, and when I saw her after that evening's concert, she wanted to go get her tooth from the classroom, but our building was locked so I wasn't sure she could get in.  Her dad asked her to wait until tomorrow and being the super sweet, obedient child she is she agreed, but I could see it in her face that she was very disappointed.  I leaned over and whispered that I was pretty sure the Tooth Fairy would visit the classroom for her.  When I got home and just started mentioning this to Rob, before I could get two words out, he pulled out a dollar bill and gave it to me and said, "This is for ...."  Sweet man!  I wrote my kiddo a letter from the Tooth Fairy and printed it off in a different font than I ever use to try to throw her off, and left the money and the note on her desk with the tooth.  She was so excited and it was so stinkin' cute!  Then today I got the nicest email from her mom thanking me for the note and dollar.  She told me that last night she found her little girl brushing the tooth (which the school tooth fairy let her keep to show her family) so that it would be nice and shiny for the home tooth fairy. :) :) :)  Awwww....

• And the last thing for tonight...

This is a chalk portrait drawn by one of my first graders while I was at a mandatory meeting this morning.  On our way to the buses she stopped me to show me and said, "Look, Mrs. T. that blond girl on the ground over there... I drew that. It's you. She's pretty."  Now as I sit here thinking about this, it seems kind of "deep" to me.  Maybe it's just the end of a long week, a lot of tired and being in pain, but this makes me think...  Maybe my kids see something, the real me, beyond the blubber that I see.  Maybe they see who I am way down deep inside- a lady who loves them an awful lot, but most of all I hope they see God's love.  And when I think of that, this photo just makes me cry. :)