Celebrate: this and that and something else

Ruth Ayres invites people to share a celebration every Saturday. Thinking back to a week you can pick anything - small or big - to celebrate. Thank you for the invitation, Ruth!

Can yo imagine that you come home on Friday and discover that you have no internet connection and won't have it  for the next five days? You cringe your teeth because you have become so accustomed to this privilege that you take it has human rights. You could go around moaning about it or discover the benefits of real life without virtual distractions. 

I had to go through this experience. As much as I was sad for not having internet, I took advantage of the situation and last weekend finished all my report comments (the week before I chose to clean windows instead of writing), read a whole book (The Bullet, unexpected plot, well-written text), and watched a large-scale, multi-age, out-door dance and gymnastics performance.  

For the summer I deliberately plan a withdrawal from internet. 

Have you ever been called a nerd? This was one word I never associated with myself, but recent conversations with people show that I can honorably wear this title. Apparently not everyone reads all the time, nor goes around recommending books to others. My recent favorites, besides the book mentioned above, include Positive Discipline (being a mom of three and having 20 years of teaching experience leaves still plenty of room for learning and improvement), Dear Committee Members (unusual structure, witty, funny, superb word choice) and Tove Jansson's Biography (honest, engaging, touching.)

My latest read came to me surprisingly. One day after school a sixth grade girl (who used to be in my third grade class) came to my door. She was excited to share with me that she had recently went to listen to Sarah Kay (THE Sarah Kay)  and got a a book signed by her. She wondered if I would be interested to read the poem book too. Yes, yes, yes.

Do you sometimes think that you are crazy because you became a teacher? I do. Especially at the end of year. Especially with a challenging class. Especially when the students still choose to act and speak in a way I know they know is not right. Nevertheless I hope that with my words and actions I have managed to install a tiny memory chip in their subconscious, and one day in the midst of want-need-should-could conflict it activates and they think before they act, and they choose kind. 

I can consider it a progress when the greatest tattletaler starts his complaint with, "First, the good thing is..." or the loudest blurter finishes his outburst with, "Sorry, I know it's inappropriate." 

So what do I celebrate today? I love to finish with a meaningful memorable phrase, but today it feels very much that I celebrate this and that and something else. Which is to say that sometimes I don' know what the celebration is about but I just wish to show up and share a glimpse of my life, in a hope that I get a glimpse of other people's life in return, and the writing and reading adds value to our lives.