Good.

>>Things are good. We are hitting a good stride and of course with only 4 months to go. Jamie is going moving right along, and ready for high school. It's amazing to think about these kids. Think about them on their first day of 6th grade. Actually 5th grade when they came for a visit. Think about how scared they were and now how big they've grown. I can only imagine how it is for their parents. In fact, there are times when I feel like i know more than their parents do. This sounds like an awful thing to say but I am a mix. I am a mixture between adult and confidant. These kids can talk to me about things they can't talk to their parents about, but they also respect me and care about me. I feel the same way about them. Although I know being a parent is MUCH harder because you have to play the bad guy, I feel like I am seeing through to how it is to have kids. I have SUCH a good relationship with all my students, especially Jamie. But really all of them. I love being this kind of friend but adult in kids lives. Being fun but responsible. It's such an amazing balance. Today, it was valentines day. We had a blast balancing lots of school work with a little bit of partying and candy eating in the afternoon. Jamie called me tonight to BEG me to go to a movie with him and few other adults in his life, but I declined.
>>I felt real love today, and that's what valentines day is all about.

absent.

You want a feel really good about your job? Know that you make a difference and that you are appreciated? Go to a training with all your paraprofessionals and have a sub for yourself and two subs for your aides who have never worked in your classroom before. Leave all 11 of your kiddos with "fun work" to complete just so they are staying busy and not acting out of control. Then.. come back the next day. I have never felt so much love and importance. So far... around 5-6 teachers came up and discussed a problem they had with my student. (one in particular that was missing for around 30 mins Monday morning) They expressed how they tried to help, and I had to reply "well I wasn't here on Monday". It showed how much I actually have control over my kiddos. Then listen to my students say, "yesterday was such a waste! why should we have even come to school, we just hung around" Wait.. what. You didn't want to just completed fun valentines day packets? "of course not!" I love it. They felt like it was a waste. They didn't like the subs, and they told me to never leave again.
If thats not true love, I'm not sure what is.

Quotes:
Jamie: Ya know.. I love you like.. uhm.. a sister!

Phillip: I dream.. I dream I save batgirl from shark. I kill shark with knife!

Phillip: Wow. your cute Carl.
Jamie: What about me?
Phillip: Oh, you're tall cute.