A birthday and a lock-in

Ah, so much to catch up on. Sorry, my gentle readers! I have left you hanging without any tasty morsels for over a week now!

Bad blogger, bad blogger.

To be honest, I've been having such a fun week I didn't have time to sit down and write it all out! Let's start from the top:

1. My Birthday
What a day! My best friend, Kristy, comes in the night before and plans on being with me all day at school. I'll admit, I'm a little nervous about this, seeing as my kids can be unpredictable sometimes, but I'm looking forward to it anyway.

I arrive at school and discover myself staring at this when I come up to my door. What the . . .?

Then I open up the door and discover that my entire room is completely decked out for my birthday. Plastic cup streamers. Messages spelled out on paper plates on my walls. Messages on my board. Tumbleweeds for decoration. My bathroom pass wrapped in tin foil (awesome!).

And who did this for me? My new bestie here in town, AB. What a great friend! My days started off so well because of her and her thoughtfulness. Later I discovered that she enlisted the help of some of my students, which made me feel even more blessed and loved. And the day was just beginning!

My students in my core classes were well-behaved and we had a good time even though it wasn't the greatest day for Kristy to see just how much fun we normally have. Monday was the day when a lot of things got piled onto them and we happened to have some hiccups with technology, too. Joy! But it all got worked out.

I loved the fact that Kristy could finally put some faces with some names, especially for a few students. She even felt comfortable enough to trade jabs with one of my more, um, colorful students, a source of great entertainment for me. And at the end of the day, AB showed up with a homemade cake just for me! Incredible! I thought the day couldn't get any better.

Kristy took me out to the local restaurant, which is great. I had my first steak in, oh, I don't know how long. Sigh. I realized just how much I missed red meat--for some reason it's really hard to cook it just for myself. Either way, my rare/medium rare ribeye hit the spot--especially because I got to gross Kristy out with how red it was in the middle. Mmm. Doesn't she realize it's not steak unless it's practically still mooing? Silly girl.

When we got home we made some special hot chocolate (double yum) and popped in a movie. Very good. Very dramatic. Notes on a Scandal. You should check it out. After that Kristy and I were feeling a little sleepy, but I suddenly got a text from a friend telling me that there's a meteor shower going on.

!

I am instantly awake and desperate to get out there and see some stars! Kristy's getting even more tired, so she tells me to head out. I pulled on as many layers as possible, grabbed my hat and a blanket, and hopped in my car. Off I go to the far NW. It's more dark and clear than anything I could have ever found in Wichita. I parked in a field, wrapped the blanket around me and laid on my back window just staring up at the sky. It was freezing and amazing. I saw some beautiful stars, got to talk to Daddy for a bit, and ended my day perfectly.

2. Youth Lock-In
Have I told you all yet how much I love my students? Because, um, I really do. We started our lock-in with some caroling at the rest home, then drove around town spreading Christmas cheer. Then back to the church for hot chocolate (yum again!) and games. Then a Bible mystery game (fun). Then a white elephant gift exchange (where my colorful student--who shall from here on out be known as Tubby--decided it would be a good time to torture Miss Martin by putting a jock strap on over his shorts and walk up to her--no lie). Then to the high school for some strobe light volleyball. That lasts for about an hour, then two more hours of regular volleyball. Then back for a game of Angels and Demons (holy cow did the kids love that game). Then chilling out with students, talking and laughing (perhaps my favorite part of the night). Then a concert by yours truly (at the students' demand). Then breakfast. Then cleanup. Then home for a two hour nap before church.

Phew!

Let's see. I had so much fun, partly because I got to spend some time with new friends, partly because I got to interact with my students outside of school, and partly because I didn't have to act like a teacher at the lock-in.

I never mind acting like a teacher. I mean, I am one, and I love the job! But really, for youth group, this was the first time the kids have had a chance to just sort of chill with Miss Martin and have fun. Of course, I still make them call me Miss Martin (some might say it's a silly rule, but it's what I've chosen), but overall it was a sort of relief to just have fun with them.

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Hmm, I was going to give you a little more here, but I suddenly decided to wait.

So, dear reader, you'll have to wait until tomorrow or so to get a little more from me. Hope you didn't get too disgusted with such an overwhelmingly happy post. Perhaps next time I can add a few anecdotes for you from my various students. There are enough rolling around in my head to keep you laughing for quite awhile.