Valentine's Day

Nothing Gold Can Stay:
This is my last week with my students.  We'll be doing custodial work at the school next week while the students are on vacation.  That means that this Friday will be our last day with them.  I sat up last night making construction paper valentines for each of my students, and it started to hit me.  Sometimes you forget how much love you have inside of you until a bunch of squirrelly, germy, adorable children pull it out of you.  Without a doubt, there will be students that I think about 20 years from now, and wonder where they're at.  I'll wonder if they ever became the veterinarian or artist they wanted to be, if they moved out of The Compound, or if they remember me...  The end of this week is going to be hard. 

I still am not sure what I want to do for my students in terms of a going away celebration.  Nothing seems good enough for them.  But then again, I think they'd appreciate almost anything.  My simple little valentines elicited about 100 hugs today from my third graders.

Also, some of my students were so excited that it was my birthday today, that they told their brothers and sisters, and thus word got around to the whole school...and I was serenaded with the Happy Birthday song about 10 times today.  So cute.  Until the students guessed that I was either 16 or 80.  Huh. 

A Valentine From a Second Grader:
One little girl in my second grade class sheepishly gave me a Valentine.  She walked over to me and handed me a folded up piece of loose leaf paper.  It had a J on the front.

I opened it up and saw that it was decorated in crayon with a heart, my name in bubble letters, and a rainbow.  Then in pencil, there was a picture of us playing together, and then a note:

You are the best helper ever.  I don't want you to go.  I hope you can come again.  Because I had a dream about you and it was about... you came to my house and we had so much fun together.  But now your going I don't think that I'm still going to have dreams.  But I will still remember you.  I will miss you.  Happy Valentine's Day!  Please don't go!

Oh my gosh.  Heartbreaking. 

To break up the sappiness just a little bit though, one of my third grade boys ripped up my valentine right away and said that he just didn't want it.  Haha, oh boys...

Some Other Updates:
Did I mention yet that my team is back down to 9 people?  We apparently can't hold onto the guys on our team.  Kristopher, our newest member was only with us for about a week.  I swear we don't bite that hard!  Apparently his paperwork wasn't going through quickly enough to work at the school with us, and Americorps didn't want him just sitting around waiting, so they switched him to another team doing environmental work.

Also, this last Saturday was the first time in my life that I have ever gotten up at 4:30am for a job.  On the weekend.  Well, ever, technically.  We had an independent service project, working a run that was happening in town.  Besides getting up freakishly early, and being freezing until the sun rose, I had the joy of watching a bunch of people jogging with their dogs.  Now I kind of want a boxer.  Kind of a lot. 

Also, also, my guitar is in the process of being fixed!  :)  I talked to the guitar shop today and they said that things are going smoothly, but that the wood bending and gluing process takes a while, so it won't be ready til Wednesday.  Unfortunately, given my work schedule, I probably won't be able to pick it up until next Monday.  Either way, it's being fixed!!!

Thanks:
Thanks so much to all of my family and friends for the sweet birthday wishes...and to Madre y Padre and Grandma and Nat and family for the birthday cards/packages.  Perfect timing...that made my day! :) 

Nat and Mom, you might like a song I've been listening to lately: There's Hope, by India Arie.  It's a good one.  Possibly the next one to learn on my guitar, once it's back in my hands.