Twenty nine for the first time

I am officially that age which people like to claim as their own when they don't want to tell you how old they are.  Does that mean no one will believe me?  I am actually looking forward to being thirty -- it sounds so mature and responsible.  It feels like I've been "in my twenties" for a long time.....

I had a lovely day -- I talked to my mom and sister last night, my dad called me at seven from a pay phone in Mexico, and my granddad called at 9:30 and asked, "So what time does school start, anyway?" Luckily my students were at gym, and we did get to chat briefly.  I got birthday calls and emails from both of my best friends off on the west coast and my grandparents in Paris, and the teacher across the hall called me into her room so her second-graders could serenade me while she played the piano!  

For the second year in a row, the staff holiday party was held on my birthday, which is actually pretty fun.  I get to pretend that everyone is there for me!  It will be hard to get up and go to meetings tomorrow morning, though.   At least it's a Friday.  Four more days until winter break.  Mostly I am looking forward to rearranging my students' seating assignments on Monday.  We do it every three weeks, and I don't understand how some teachers manage to keep kids in the same seats all year.  By the end of every three weeks, there are always five kids I need desperately to separate!

We're going to make snowflakes for art tomorrow -- suitably non-denominational, and complicated enough that it's good practice in listening to directions.  It brings me back to making snowflakes with my mom's friend Sheila, an artist who used to invite us kids over (just the kids, mind you) twice a year for big art projects -- snowflakes, and valentine's cards -- along with treats.  No one made snowflakes like Sheila, although I like to think that mine have gotten pretty impressive over the years, too.  At least my students like them.  The wide-eyed approval of ten-year-olds can be heady wine......