Good Tidings of GREAT Joy

This morning I was greeted by a high level of adrenaline, multiple gift bags, a bamboozle of hands being thrust towards me, cards begging to be read, and seven year old mouths announcing that they wanted my attention RIGHT NOW. There were stories to tell! Gifts to be explained!!! I got you this because... Open mine... Joey's here.... Wow, another bag.... Did you read the card... Mom made you brownies.... I wrote you a song.... It's your favorite color.... Wait in line, Mackenzie... This is for the whole class to eat, and this is just for you... Be careful when you light these on fire, they sparkle... Where did you put my present.... Be careful, you'll knock her over... I can't hold all of these gift bags at once... Thank you so much; you're such a sweetheart.... DID YOU OPEN MINE YET????? DID YOU, DID YOU????? IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!!! I'M SO EXCITED!!!

School starts at 7:30. I had only managed to open half the gifts by then. I sat everyone down for Calendar and opened all the presents one at a time so everyone could see them, get sprayed by the perfume, smell the lotions and candle, oohhh and ahhhh at the potted plants, touch the fuzzy blue socks, etc.

The kids voluntarily lined up and each of them gave me a hug. Then they kept getting in line again and again until they'd all given me three hugs. A few of the boys squeezed me as tight as they could, showing off their muscles. A few of the more sensitive ones just hung onto me for a really, really long time. Like good natured, sweethearted leeches, they weren't going to peel themselves off voluntarily. Though I loved their affection, eventually I had to end it... It was a joyful, chaotic form of love that they regailed me with that morning.

By 7:40 I decided to make a new birthday tradition. We were going to go on a birthday jog around the school becuase the kids had so much energy there was no way anyone could concentrate or sit still for more than 1.5 seconds. Thankfully the few minute trek wore a few of them out and helped their brains focus...

By the end of the day each kiddo was talking about death by sugar intake, which accidentally mentioned outloud as I served the treats they brought. The day before they decided to throw me a party, but they weren't sure if they'd have time to get treats. No worries. Costa Ricans know how to party, and I am WELL loved by my students. There are 13 kids in my class, and we ended up with four pans of brownies, one chocolate cake, and 2 kinds of candy... WOW.

Additionally, the thirde grade teacher's birthday is on the same day too, and she requested permission for the kids to wear her favorite colors to school. We usually wear uniforms, so this is a big deal. She asked for permission for us to do the same while she was at it. The kids were THRILLED to wear blue and green. Every single one of them was decked out. They were so proud to be wearing my colors!