tending my garden

whew! what a week. in the world of teaching, there aren't too many things crazier than parent/teacher conference week.

i've always liked conference week. it's a time to connect with the moms and dads, and talk about the wonder of their children. i tend to have parents who worry a little more than average about the progress of their kids. i teach the "special" ones...the ones for whom learning, development, or some other life function is delayed or maybe even broken. for some, the progress is quite slow...you won't even see it if you don't look REEEEAALLLY carefully. but i do...i look carefully. i find any seed of possibility and i tend it...my staff and i encourage it along. and when it yields a bloom, no matter how small, we hold it up and marvel at its beauty. we display it for all to see. we celebrate it for what it is...a remarkable achievement. to some, our little flower won't look like anything special, but those of us with the trained eye and the open heart will know what it is.

some of these wonderful parents just want the blooming to come faster...for their precious flower to "catch up". some will...but lots won't. so my job is to collect as many of the beautiful buds and petals as i can, and present them lovingly. sometimes it takes a while to see, but every single bouquet our children produce is a wonder. and for some, it's nearly a miracle.

thanks, moms and dads, for trusting your little ones to those of us charged with their care and education. the gardens won't all look the same, but every single one is worth appreciating. in some cases, it takes a LOT of work to get there.

have a happy weekend. peace out...and in.