Teachers...gratitude

Today's Thoughts...I stayed home today because I am still fighting with this coldish thing, whatever it is...and by staying home I got to spend some extra time with the Cutest Boy and with my girl. It felt frantic, at times, trying to grade papers and get things ready for her trip tomorrow. She will be doing a ride share, a very Northwest thing, where others are riding part of the way with her and sharing the expenses. We had met with them the other night to get a sense and they passed the test as "typical Portland hipsters." She is picking them up tomorrow morning and they will work their way toward Kansas City, MO, where she will drop them off. Once they are gone she will try to make her way to Edwardsville, IL. I am hoping that she doesn't hit an enormous amount of snow, but since a news reporter today said very nonchalantly, "We could get 30, 40, or 50 inches of snow," I am not hopeful! I will just be crossing my fingers until she is back home...

Today's Gratitude- January 6, 2014: Although I don't like it when the Cutest Boy is sick, one of the best things about being sick and home is that his teacher comes by to do an "hour" of tutoring with him. Javad truly learns best in this environment, but more than his way of learning is his teacher. She is something special. When we moved to this school three years ago, she really took him on, looked at him as a puzzle to figure out. Each subject is approached separately, with  trying to figure out how to best have him learn being the goal. Today I watched them read a book, talk about what was happening, and do some math. She is constantly modifying and adapting the lesson to keep him engaged as well as maximizing his learning. It is impressive to watch. She has helped him make impressive progress over the last few years and I am already mourning the loss since he is moving to middle school. Sometimes you get lucky and your child is blessed with an incredible teacher...this has been our experience. There is not a day that I don't believe that she looks at the Cutest Boy with eyes of identifying a learner. She doesn't let him slack, but continues to push him for more. These are the kind of people that I want in the Cutest Boy's life, people who see through the disability and really see him. For this, I am grateful since it is clearly easy to get caught up in what he looks like and instead, see him for who he is...that, my friends is a gift.

@365grateful
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