Grit.

Last night I laid in bed, not wanting to face the first day back after Christmas Break. I knew I had not worked on lesson plans or assessments, service capture or IEP's all break and I felt so guilty and unprepared. I had a difficult time falling asleep, and staying asleep. I kept having dreams about my students and things that could go wrong. My body automatically woke up three times before my alarm out of fear of missing it. I grumbled as I scraped the three inches of ice off my windshield. I was so focused on not forgetting my lunch, I forgot my phone at home.  I scowled as I lugged the huge bags of textbooks (I hadn't touched all break) back into my classroom. I sighed as I walked into a classroom that was in disarray because the janitors cleaned my carpets over break. I rolled my eyes as I pushed my furnature back into place. And I sat at my desk once again. 

I looked up at my wall and saw a note from a student tacked to my board. A smile came to my face as I read words of appreciation. I opened my email and planned out my day. The planning came easy, as I was now anxious to see my students. I was reminded that my job was important. That my job made a difference in the lives of my students. I laughed out loud while discussing t-Rex's combing their hair while watching students identify the steps to solve equations. I felt honored to listen to a student's good news about their break. I was blessed to celebrate a student correctly answering a challenging math problem. I was encouraged as I documented progress monitoring data, and saw steady improvement towards an IEP goal. I smiled as I observed a student, and the teacher discussed having "grit" with her students. 

"We're in this together, right?" She said.

Yes. Yes we are.  And that is such an honor, that parents would entrust their students to me. That I get to listen to their hardships, encourage their grit, and celebrate their successes. 

That's why we teachers come to work every day. That's why we do what we do. It's all for them. And I had forgotten that last night. I'm so glad I was reminded of it today. I can't wait to go back to school tomorrow.