"Thank you God for..."

Coworkers!

I have so many amazing women around me - and I am so thankful for them all. In teaching my students how to show gratitude - I need to constantly remind myself not to take this great setup and my teaching peers for granted!

It's so nice to have comrades. While I loved the nanny position I had last year, one of the areas where it was slightly lacking was the socialization it allowed for. Sure, several people worked WITH and FOR this family I was supporting, but I spent very little time with them.

And there were no OTHER nannies. It's so nice when your sutdents have acted like wild animals to stick your head in the next classroom over and ask, "is your bunch wild today like mine?" or to share materials and get a copy of a great assignment from a teacher who has already used it and is recommending it to you as a great activity. Or to know that you have someone to grab a drink or pedicure with on Friday after a long week.

More than just the social side of things - my mentors are so encouraging ("you're doing a great job. Always so conscientious. I think the students in your room have a great teacher"), my students are getting compliments in the hall and at their special classes (the art teacher RAVES about them every week. I think I have a pretty artistic bunch!).

And besides the companionship, and positivity (of course, we all have our WHINY moments - and you BET a room full of women can turn into a vent-fest) I am so thankful for the staff on campus - the sweet old woman who cleans my desks and vaccuums my room, the housekeeper who makes us coffee, the handyman who came in an fixed my flag pole for the pledge each morning, and the smiles they always have on their faces, how late they stay, how much earlier they show up (and I thought I was there early!). They may not be well-known by all of the students, or interact with all of the parents, but they really do make our jobs and our school's routine possible! :)