So Happy I Could Die

I think my last post was about my students, too. I can't help it though, I am full of love for my babies! Tonight was closing night of The Canterbury Tales. The whole process has been so much f - u - n. I decided this year to STOP taking everything so seriously. This does not lessen my need to control details or my perfectionism, but somehow it has chilled me out all the same. When I started this blog, I said that it was because I was tired of being tied up in knots all the time, and that I was going to look for the Beautiful, Interesting, and Good in things. Well, with the hardest (and most rewarding) part of the school year behind me, I can honestly say that my new determination for joie de vivre has really taken root. What the kids said tonight was everything that I could wish for. They had fun. They learned. And I will be honest, I LOVE that they say they love me because I love them RIGHT BACK. I have always envied the Christmas bonus of people in the Oil Industry, but what better Christmas bonus could I get than 2 bouquets of winter flowers, Callebaut chocolates (OMG I ate four already), Truffles, and the crowning glory - a hand-drawn card full of love notes from my sweetie pies. It's like the Lady Gaga song. I am so happy I could die. I would like to leave with you with the thoughts I shared with the audience tonight, as my arms were filled with hugs and flowers and tears: The media is always reporting stories of teenagers making bad choices. But for every one of those stories, there are hundreds of stories of kids trying to be good people and make the world a better place. I am so privileged that I get to see evidence of this every day at my job. Thank you for supporting these truly great kids in their efforts.

What a totally awesome day all around.

Side note: My neighbours have the most gorgeous Christmas tree. The lights are the colour of the sea on the "calm bathtub" side of Cozumel.