I have this beautiful tree that my cousin Kathy made and I keep in on my desk from about October until, well today. I call it my ‘snow tree’ because when it’s out, I’m always hoping for snow. We had about nine inches two weekends ago and it was beautiful. At first, my students were all about it. But, that first snow we had in April had them threatening to destroy my tree! Today, it goes back into its protective bag until next October.

I also had one last student turn in her life map today. She has struggled this year to pass English, not because she can’t do the work, but because she battles depression every day. Her map is stunning because of her honesty and her metaphorical drawing of how that depression attacks.

I snap chatted this morning’s sunrise to her in hopes of encouraging her into this day. I know you remember the young lady I wrote about a while back who embodies so much love and joy that it wanders from her space to those all around her. She came into class singing today and some of the students were wondering if it was me singing. I responded, “No, that is not me. That singing you hear comes right from God, you see, when God was thinking this world needed more joy, He decided that He’d better create someone so full of joy that anyone who came into contact with this person would know exactly what joy is and their lives would never be the same. And so, he made Anna.”

Her eyes, already sparkling, looked over to me and she said, “Really Mrs. G?” And I said, “Yes, really.” She was silent for a moment and then she sat down and continued her song. And no one in the room said a word.