Well, I'm not really sure where the first half of December went, but here we are on the day before my last week of school before winter break. This week my kids will learn about how we celebrate Christmas all around the world, they'll work on a project to gift their parents, we'll end the week with a Christmas party on Thursday and pajama day on Friday--and somehow will learn 2 digit addition and subtraction with regrouping amidst all the excitement of all things Christmas. Mike and I have two Christmas parties with church groups, and I have one for work on Thursday evening. Add in some secret Santa gifts and delivering a few goodies to some friends, and it looks like a fun week ahead. I'm looking forward to all of it and am thankful to be feeling so much better than I was a year ago. Oh, and David comes home on Tuesday for the winter break. Yay!!!
Christmas truly looks and feels so different this year, so I'm really trying to focus on enjoying each and every day rather than dreading the busyness that can normally take a toll on me. I really could care less about gifts this year--both to receive and also to give. That may sound a bit selfish, but I truly want to give more gifts from my heart. Gifts that have sentiment and meaning. We've all realized over the last two years that material things and money don't mean anything in the face of all we lost. Mental and physical health have taken such a huge hit across the board that people want love, connection, and meaningful interaction over anything else, whether they know it or not.
I have friends and family who have lost so much over the last two years. Friends have lost spouses they thought they would grow old with, either to unexpected death, disease, or to separation and divorce. Other friends and family heard cancer diagnoses for the first time, and some for the second time after recently celebrating being cancer free. Families grow distant over not knowing how to support one another in their grief. I'm a prayer warrior, and my list gets longer every day for people I've committed to pray for. Life doesn't look anything like it did just two short years ago. Some of us haven't been touched physically by COVID, some of us survived a few uncomfortable weeks, some of us are still battling its effect on us even a year later, while others of us lost a loved one to it. But mentally and emotionally, we've all been gravely affected. All you have to do is spend a week in any school classroom to see the detrimental affect it has had on kids' mental health. With so much focus on self-protection, we forgot how rich it feels to sacrifice for the needs of others. Myself included.
I have my kids write a LOT in my classroom. Probably the most important assignment I give each day is our daily journal reflection at the end of the day. They have to write about what they learned, what they're thankful for, how they feel and why, and what their hopes are for the next day. I make sure they can express their emotions and explain what makes them feel that way. Since it's the last thing we do every day, they actually look forward to it because it signals our time to go home. :) And it's the one assignment I enjoy checking right after they leave.
I may not always teach everything I'm supposed to or follow everything they've stuffed into the curriculum. I may not always teach to the test or put all the right things up on my walls or ask the most rigorous questions, but I take the time to personally connect with each and every one of my students, and I also teach them how to connect with themselves. I hope that they will continue journaling and reflecting on their days long after they leave my classroom. If they do, then I know I had success as their teacher.
So with all that said, my Christmas theme this year is all about authentic connection and care for those that God puts in my path. I hope this next week gives me the chance to connect with others in a way that I don't normally take the time to do. I hope my gifts reflect how deeply I love and care about the people I give them to. This year it's all about the little things that make the biggest difference.
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