I'm Gifted

The day before we set the children free for the holiday break can be a very, very, very, very loooooooong one.  Even if you rush them through their work in the days before this event so you can have fun activities, it can seem endless.  Even if half your class doesn't show up and it's mostly the kids from whom you will consider this their Christmas gift to you, the hours drip like cold molasses.  Even if people are generally in pretty good moods overall and willing to set aside the usual petty differences that permeate any school, noon will feel more like midnight.

Eventually, though, the day will finally come to its inevitable conclusion.  You might even rush it along a bit by considering the "end of the day" to really mean "after your last student has exited the building rather than the waiting for the last run of buses."  

It's not like it's my fault that none of my students are on the third trip.  Or that the secretaries are willing to enable me with this by asking only that I sign out for the day rather than wait until 3:00 officially arrives.

Frankly, I can't be blamed for leaving.  It's been a long time since I taught in a middle school and I guess I forgot how sad the snack options are at that level.  I've been at the elementary schools for a while and there are lots of parties and parent-donated goodies all over the place there.  Middle school?  Not so much.  I saw no reason to stay.

Besides, I'd done my good deeds and spread the holiday cheer.  The teaching assistants and the secretaries were gifted in a manner befitting their helpful status.  I decided that this year might be a good one to go a little "green" with the gift bags.  And who else but my favorite Dollar Store to help me in this endeavor?  

Cute little canvas totes for a buck a piece!  Got the ornaments there, too!

They were the perfect gift bags and can be easily reused.  Everyone was pleased with both the inside and the outside of their presents and, thus, I felt pretty much justified in starting the holiday break just as soon as my child-watching duties were finished.

I'd given some thought to heading down to The Yarn Sellar tonight to visit with a few Chicks With Sticks and enjoy some communal knitting.  However, the need to do some last minute holiday shopping got the better of me.  Fighting my way through the crowds and practically having to stake a claim to get a bit of wrapping paper was pretty much the end for me.  By the time I exited the store, I found myself out of goodwill for my fellow human beings and didn't feel that anyone really deserved further contact with me.  I'll make it down there next week.

In spite of my less than holly-jolly attitude towards the season, I still felt like I'd done rather well.  The shopping is now well and truly done.  If I can stay focused long enough to knit a couple of thumbs, I'll have another pair of mittens to toss someone's way on the 25th.  The staff at school were recognized for all their hard work and I was nice to the children all day long.  Even when they became bored with all the merriment and began to get fussy.  (which is not a pretty sight in a teenager...)

I couldn't help but think I deserved a little gift of my own.  It's been a while since I gave myself a present that didn't have some practical purpose.  While this wasn't exactly the one I wanted, it was still a little extravagance and something I've thought about getting.  I threw caution to the wind, ignored the fact that I have something similar, (if woefully outdated) and asked the nice lady to get one out of the display case for me.

Merry Christmas to me!!!!

I didn't even need to wrap it.  Although I might have liked one of those little tote bags...

SA