Thanks...

I read in the newspaper this morning that today is Thanksgiving. I forgot. Actually, I thought it might be next week. So in a moment of teaching brilliance, I deftly changed my lesson plans to include that little cultural gem we Americans call being thankful.

And what do you know? My kids were really good at it. They got a little side tracked when one of the kids mentioned that his daddy smokes and mommy yells at daddy and "every every day to him I say 'don't smoke!'" All of the other kids nodded in agreement and then held up their hands to tell stories about how their daddies smoke, too. I got them back on track by saying that I was thankful for such smart students who give me love and hard work every day. And you know what? It's true.

I'm also thankful for the woman I share my classroom with, Monica. She is a great teacher and we really do work well together. she's a good listener who doesn't gossip or say bad things about other teachers at our school, which I really respect. Especially because I always gossip and say bad things about at least 2 other teachers.

And you know what else I'm thankful for? Pecan pie. I told Monica about how it's my favorite and my mom makes it for me every year in America because she knows that I don't really like other kinds of pie. So you know what she did? She went out and bought me a pecan pie. And told me not to share it with anyone! (Actually, I have no idea when she had time to do that because she's always in the classroom, well we both are, so this feat was nothing short of a miracle and she didn't even know it was Thanksgiving until we were already in the classroom.) Isn't Monica amazing?

Well Family, I hope you have a nice Thanksgiving. I am thinking of you and feeling oh-so thankful that I'll being seeing you in just a few weeks. NSLS, have a safe drive back home. I saw that it's been snowy there this week and couldn't help but think about that little baby girl in your belly. Happy Thanksgiving!