Friday, March 2

Today was a day full of conversation.  Here at the end of it I feel like I started talking at 6:30 a.m. when I first woke up, and haven't stopped until just now.  Of course that isn't literally true, but I am verbally exhausted!

Today I substituted for my daughter's homeschool literature class, and I had fun with it.  The kids made for a tough crowd in some ways because they weren't as conversational as I would have liked, but eventually they did warm up and talk.  When I broke them up into four groups to do the little activity I had planned, they loosened up and their cute little personalities shined through their initial reserve.  L said I didn't embarrass her, which I took as high praise.  =)  So that was a happy moment.

And I'm considering teaching the high school physics class next year at Palaestra (the home school group).  Today I talked to a handful of people there about that possibility.  First I talked to the gal who is currently teaching chemistry and biology there about how she ran the classes.  I was happy with the conversation on two counts: first, I was reassured that she would be a wonderful teacher for L next year when she takes biology, and second, I was reassured that I could, indeed, handle what would be required to do a good job teaching physics.  Then I talked to the Palaestra board, and I was so pleased with 1) how careful they are in selecting their teachers, that they wanted to be sure I had some physics background, they didn't want me learning physics along with the kids, and 2) I was also pleased with how seriously they took my preferences if I were to teach there next year, specifically that I would need L's biology class time slot to be somewhat close to the physics class's time slot, and that morning was best to avoid the possibility of running into L's afternoon dance.  So those were happy moments.

Another happy moment was sneaking out during Palaestra today to buy L a beautiful blue topaz pendant necklace and a card.  We somehow fell into a tradition of buying her a necklace for each ballet exam she passes.  They serve as heartfelt congratulatory gifts for all her hard work, and I hope they will be happy mementos for her of each exam in years to come.  Up until now they have all been inexpensive little things, appropriate for a young girl, but this year I decided a semiprecious stone was in order.

And the last happy moment of the day was during L's dance class when I slipped out to coffee with a friend and her wonderful mom.  This friend's mom has become like another grandmother to L, so she is near and dear to my heart just for the love she has bestowed on my kid, besides being a lovely person in her own right.  They were kind enough to listen to me do more than my share of the talking, but it felt great and was a lot of fun for me!

Lots of happy moments, a bit out of line with the original intent of this Happy Moment (singular) Journal, but what can one do when life is so full of blessings?