Thursday, May 07, 2009

Further Celebration


I forgot to tell you about an amazing "surprise" that happened the Friday of my birthday week. I put surprise in parenthesis because how well can first graders really keep a secret? But, we had just returned from P.E. The kids were sweaty with their hair plastered to their faces. They were squirming to get the best seat in front of the A.C. I was reading to them about Romona who had scribbled all over her library book in purple crayon. But, it was hard to read knowing a surprise party was going to be thrown for me. However, I was distracted by some loud yet distant music and thought maybe our cd player had been turned on. Next thing I knew the door burst open and in piled a crowd of loving mothers with a boombox blasting a Latino beat. Their arms were full of boxes and flowers. The kids began squealing and jumping up and down and I was surprised, but not really. I was acting surprised as best as I could.

Kemi lit the birthday candles which shot flares straight up and I thought, "Never in America." It was beautiful though. We had a wild party of dancing with Bookie who has become bold and brave since Spring break, sharing gooey chocolate cake (which I didn't get to eat because of all the requests from my dancing partners) and eating mini cheese pizzas.

More importantly, I felt so loved and supported by my parents. Knowing how much they appreciate me makes my job even more rewarding. They put a lot of time and effort into arranging this little shin dig. Well, the feeling of gratitude is mutual. I'm blessed.

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