Happy 30th, Barry!!!

Welcome to 30, Barry!

Although I’m not sure that Syd and Maggie know it is your big day, we’re excited to celebrate YOU!!

I bet the next 30 years will be the best years of your life.

You are the best husband, father and friend anyone could ask for.

Smooch!

Birthday Decorations

I came in to work this morning to find my quaint little cube decorated with banners and tags wishing me happy birthday. Not only that, Sonja, remembered me saying that I liked carrot cake, so she had a batch of delicious carrot cake cupcakes waiting to be eaten.

Lump

This will my first September without a First Day of School since I was in preschool. I’ll let you in on a little secret, I’m a bit sad not to be sitting on pins and needles wondering how my class will mesh together.  I’ll get over it, but I’ve never known a Fall not filled with backpacks and books. Right now education is kind of in a dark, poor place – counting copies, limited field trips, HUGE class sizes…

I hope for all my friends starting school that they can, as we talked about last year, be the light in the darkness for their students. Teach them to love learning.

Maggie and I were reading a David Shannon book the other day and I realized that I’m going to miss doing the Author Studies with my students. I loved it when my students would connect books we were reading to the idea that they too could write multiple stories themselves.

It was at that moment that I found a lump had appeared in my throat full of sadness. I was able to swallow it down because I’m pretty sure that I’ll find myself in the classrooms of my friends volunteering my services from time to time. Seeing the lightbulb go off when a student figures something out is too good of an experience to pass up completely. Plus, I figure I can have my First Day of School anytime I want.