A time to be Grateful even on the hard days.

1. First and foremost I am grateful for my students. I am grateful for their fun energetic nature, even though I have "shushed" far more than any year before the joy that they have just visiting with each other, playing games and even talking about books makes it hard to get after them. I am grateful for their drive to succeed. I am grateful for the smiles when they realize they have achieved a goal. I am grateful they are willing to try new things that interest me as a teacher and trust that it will help them understand things more in the long run. I am grateful they still want to be kids. We are all in too big of a hurry to get older and I am so grateful that my students just want to play cards and listen to me read them a book (it can be the highlight of my day)

2. I am grateful that I get to be a teacher. It is a wonderful job even on the hard days. The moments when learning is evident, helping kids solve a problem, laughing and playing. Today I raced some grade 3 kids up the hall, their teacher may not have approved of the running the halls but this teacher approved of the fun. Playing a role in the development of good people is a responsibility that I take very seriously and I am grateful that I am trusted to play that role.

3. I am grateful for good co-workers. I work with the best team. On the hard days they are the best support a teacher could ask for and on the good days we celebrate together. We are a team and I am so grateful because not all teachers have that support.

4. I am grateful for parents that are supportive of both me and their children. I am grateful they have taught their children to be good people, to be respectful and to be kind. On the whole that is the description for my students and I am grateful for the parents that have helped them to become those kids. It becomes so easy this time of year to get lost in the crazy, the busy, the "holiday". We tend to forget that this is a time to be grateful. Of course there is always the day a student "helps" you to temporarily forget that you are grateful for them too. Or the hard parts of the job make you forget you are grateful for the good parts. Or you have a co-worker that does not see your vision (that is my kind way of saying drives you crazy). Or maybe even that parent that makes you feel like you just can't get it right. This is why taking a moment to recognize what you are grateful for is so important. Even on the hard days we need to recognize that there is more than just a silver lining. There is far more to be grateful for than tired of, you just have to look for it. Merry Christmas-Happy Holidays-Thank You.