little miracles

We've been raising caterpillars in our classroom for about 2 weeks now. They each made a chrysalis last week. This morning, three butterflies came out. The first one happened before the kids got to school. The next two appeared while I was teaching. Of course, like any good teacher, I stopped everything and told the kids to gather around to watch the magic happen. It was amazing to watch a butterfly push its way out of the chrysalis and crawl to a nearby branch to dry its wings. I've never seen anything like it, and neither have the kids. It was a real "oooh, aaah" moment in first grade.

The only damper on my day was that Frequent Absentee Girl missed the whole thing, due to yet another absence. There was a note in my mailbox this morning from our secretary saying that she had a doctor's appointment. On my break (the gym teacher was in, whoo-hoo!), I went to the office and asked the secretary if Frequent Absentee Girl was expected in after the appointment. She said, "No, it didn't sound like they were coming at all. Her sister had an orthdontist appointment." Okay, I had braces - I never once had an appointment that lasted longer than an hour, let alone an entire school day. My mother never let me miss a day of school for that. And she sure as hell never let my brother miss a day of school for one of my appointments. Grrrr...

But... on a brighter note (for me, anyway)... I only have two days of work left this week! Don't hate. It's a Catholic school thing. We have off for Ascension Thursday and Friday (it's a package deal). Another long weekend. Not that I'm complaining, of course.