"Mrs. Love?"

Today I am really grateful for the 25 sets of eyes that look to me everyday to hold it together.  There are a lot of days that I wake up (sometimes after a long, hard fight) with no desire to do anything.  Sometimes I wake up feeling gross and wishing more than anything that I could go to bed.  Today wasn't the worst, but it was not one of those excited-for-life mornings that David keeps trying to convince me exist.  Despite all of my early morning woes, I get ready and make it to work.

Somehow, no matter how I fell or what I'd rather be doing, I see those kids who look to me for answers to all of their daily problems and I manage to pull myself together.  I don't really know how I do it, because when I am at home, I can't even get myself a glass of milk without whining when I am tired.  Magically, I become superhuman.  I pray the whole way to work that I can make it a good day for these kids who depend upon me to have a good day themselves.  It really is a miracle.  I am suddenly able to answer 16 questions at once, help kids who really shouldn't be in the fifth grade, produce jokes, and smile.

I am grateful for people who demand so much out of me that I completely forget myself.  I seem to find much more happiness that way.  Even though they drive me nuts sometimes, tapping me, or touching me, or calling me "teacher, teacher" instead of "Mrs. Love,"  they make me better than I am, and for that, I am thankful.