The Best Kind of Gift

Thank You Notes From One Canoe Two

Monday mornings are tough, don't you think? Personally, I hate them. I am not a big morning person in general, and sunrise is always a little chaotic in my life. This has persisted since my high school days when I became quite friendly with our high school attendance officer.  One summer, I even had to come in and scrape gum off the bottom of desks as a sentence for arriving to school late so frequently. Yeah, they definitely don't allow that anymore...but I digress.

Anyway, this Monday morning was particularly difficult as it was daylight savings weekend and, as a teacher, I have to be awake enough to entertain the often tough audience of teenagers at 8:00 in the morning. I arrived at work, exhausted, grande coffee in one hand, computer in the other, when one of my juniors walked into my classroom with a big grin on her face and said, "I made you a present this weekend!"

Over the weekend, Noemy, decided to make me a piece of art and frame it! She built the frame herself and the artwork brought tears to my eyes. One of my favorite books is F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Knowing this, my student had illustrated (beautifully, I might add) a scene from Gatsby and included the quote from the novel that inspired her artwork. The painting captures the tragedy of Gatsby in such a heartbreaking and compelling manner.  On the back of her art, she wrote me a thank you note that left me radiating with reminders of why I love teaching so much. It was truly one of the nicest gifts I have ever received.

In a profession that is so often thankless, where everyone thinks that they have the answers--even those who have never set foot in a classroom--these are the kinds of things that remind me why teaching is such an amazing profession. Gratitude is an awesome and renewing gift. My student's gratitude reminded me that I need to tell people how thankful I am even more frequently, as thanks is truly one of the greatest gifts one can give.