Bye, FRIEND!

I snapped this photo of a firstie last Friday because it was, in fact, hilarious.

I call it

“A Friday Afternoon After A Week of First Grade”

For this gal’s free choice time she chose computers, which is fine, but look at that hair, Man.  There are headphones in there somewhere.

Let’s move on.

I feel the need to tell you all that my knee feels phenomenal.  And I think the reason it feels so great is because I was approved for so much extra physical therapy compared to the previous surgeries and recoveries.  I think it is because it is a workman’s comp claim?  I don’t know.  But I am still going twice a week and it hasn’t felt this good in over ten years and I no longer need to ice it daily.  Usually, I am only in therapy long enough to work on bending and extending it.  Now I am working on strength, and let me tell you, strength is good.

We went to the river for what was probably our last time “camping.”  David and the children might still use it for hunting season.

We are all loving the river property and feel so thankful for it.

We had some sad news from Alex, David’s brother, the other day.

Remember Alex?

You might say, “Taylor! What is going on in this picture?”

Well.  We Maliblahblahs fancied grabbing some ice cream one hot summer day, as Maliblahblahs are wont to do.  Alex was refused entry because he was shirtless, as we had been floating the river.  Which we are also wont to do.

Anyways, things can get crazy with Alex.  I think he raided our SUV and found Hadley’s Old Navy Girls Size Medium Puffy vest.

Alex puts the vest on-hijinks ensue-and he triumphantly walks out with his ice cream cone.

Back to the sad news.

You may recall we took his dog, Cali, in for 2 1/2 years during a time when he could not keep her.  I will admit that I had a sour-ish attitude at times about keeping Cali for so long.  But when he was able to take her back again, he was so thankful and texted us pictures of her and told us how much he appreciated it.  And so I didn’t feel so sour anymore.

Cali got sick and he had to put her down recently.  Isn’t that just the saddest news?  He sure loved that dog.  He had a year with her in the end.

Those pets.  They sure do sneak into our hearts.

Let’s talk about first graders, shall we?

First off, our school is the most bestest school in the nation and we have our very own dog on staff.

I submit that there is no better way to start your day than with a hug from our school dog.

I was reading “Interrupting Chicken” the other day.  Have you read this book?  You should.  Especially if you are a first grader.

Anyways, it is a jolly tale about interrupting and as I was reading it, we were ironically interrupted by a staff member.  She was feeling fussy with a couple of my boys because they had taken their bags of Wheat Thins at lunch and were tossing them around.  Which is naughty, of course.  So, she was stopping in to remind them how to properly handle their Wheat Thin Bags.

And then-my most hilarious student interrupted her.

Hilarious Student:  I did not throw my Wheat Thins, but I did take the crackers and used them like a spoon to dip into my strawberry yogurt, and I must tell everyone, it was DELICIOUS.

So then I had to try and not laugh during the serious Wheat Thins discussion.  And let’s be impressed by how many times people were interrupting each other during the lesson about interrupting.

Hilarious student is like a 40 year old man in the body of a six year old.  We should probably give him a name.  He will most likely be making several appearances in this blog.

Let’s call him “Hal.”

Hal was my kiddo was was very moved emotionally after learning about the Pledge of Allegiance.  And he is the one who whisper-shouts “YES!” and does an air fist pump when it is time to recite the Pledge.

During Social Studies this week, we learned about an American Veteran who had lost his arm in a war.

Me:  Class, this is why we say the Pledge each day.  We need to honor and remember what people have sacrificed for our country.

And then Hal, completely on his own, turned to the flag, put his hand on his heart and whisper mouthed the Pledge to himself.  And is that not the most precious thing?

For reasons I will never understand, I call my students, “Friends.”

“Good Morning, Friend!”

“Hi, Friend.  Can you come and do your lunch choice?”

“Friend, can you stop beat boxing while I am trying to teach you?”

I have never had a student call me “Friend.”

Until yesterday.

I was standing in the hall as they were leaving for the day, wishing them goodbye and farewell and good day.

Student, who is always unbearably loud, “Bye Mrs. M!”

And he started off down the hall.

And then he stopped, turned around, gave me a giant hug and said-shouted:

“Bye, FRIEND!”

So, in summary and summation, I have the best job in the world.