Busy, Busy, Busy!

Yesterday was nonstop school.  Of course I had procrastinated about grading papers.  When do I NOT put off grading papers??  But I really challenged myself by making lunch plans in the midst of the grading frenzy, and I'm so glad I did -- I had a fabulous time chatting with a beautiful, intelligent, passionate friend with whom I'm realizing I share more and more in common in regard to our passion, I mean. ;o)  She is someone whom I respect and admire greatly, and with whom I'd love to spend more time.  If she's not just one of those people who is nice to everyone, then I think maybe she likes me, too - so perhaps suggesting a whole dinner would not be out of the question.  I don't know if I can get away with drinks and/or a movie, though - - I wouldn't want to scare her off.

I should probably mention that lunch itself was downright gross.  The special in the cafeteria was some sort of "salad," meaning iceberg lettuce, which - face it, people! - really shouldn't count as a food, unless you're a rabbit, so I settled for "mac and cheese." Unfortunately, it had obviously been tainted with some sort of creamy-textured-yet-tasteless substance to stretch the "cheese," which tasted scarily similar to Velveeta - though it had a bit more color to it than the homemade Velveeta macaroni my mother used to concoct (with great love, I am certain, which made it more palatable than yesterday's dish).

But no matter.  Fabulous company more than compensates for crap food. :o)

After lunch, I somehow managed to scramble to get the rest of my essays graded.  But the greatest accomplishment was somehow calming the nerves of a super sweet girl who was literally panicking about retaking the exit exam she had not managed to pass two days earlier.  I know I'm not a magician - - these kids have it in themselves all along! - but the encouragement I gave, coupled with the last minute review of some concepts she had diligently been studying for the past 48 hours, somehow eased her mind enough that she did NOT throw up (as she said she had done due to nervousness the night before), but instead earned the TOP SCORE POSSIBLE.  I wanted to cry as I watched her jump up and down in excitement, her hands trembling.  And to really put the cherry on top of her day, I was able to hand an essay back to her that had a decent grade on it and tell her she was improving her writing tremendously. 

It's been a long, rough road this semester, but many of my students are navigating through this last rush of writing activity quite smoothly.  THANK GOD!!

I had a momentary panic as I chatted with my last student of the day (she had brought my students' combined passing percentage to 100 - - WOO HOO!!!) when my boss walked in.  My mind raced back through everything I'd said and done in the past few days, now panicked myself, thinking I must be in trouble - - but she was merely there to discuss spring classes, and I was even pleasantly surprised to hear that she approached teaching in much the same way I do, by modeling for her students how to approach an exam such as the one my students just took, rather than sending them in blind as many teachers unfortunately do.  My heart was still pounding even after she left, though, as it will be EVERY time I encounter a boss from now until I retire, which will not be until I die.  (If only I'd figured out I wanted to teach 14 years earlier... *SIGH*!)

Now I'm off to spread Christmas spirit as I deliver poinsettias for the Kiwanis club.  My father has volunteered to help - they're serving chili and cookies for lunch - I don't have to grade any essays....  I think it'll be another great day!