My kids have approximately 20 days of school left in the school year aka 120 hours left with their amazing teachers. And while this may be a reason to celebrate for you, my response is to fall down at your feet and beg for it not to end. I am frantically thinking to myself “Holy shit! What I am I going to do with these little shits and who can I pay off to save my sanity?” The teachers they had this year were amazing and if I had all the money in the world, I would throw it at them as if I were at a strip joint!

I’ll never forget the apprehension I had dropping them off on the first day of school. Were they going to like school? Would they make friends? What if they didn’t like their teachers?

Yeah ok, that’s a big fat lie.

After skipping down the hallway and driving away from the school at 115 miles/hr, it was like Christmas all over again! But I do have to say, I was really curious. How can I get a nanny cam into the school? I mean, can any single person handle my kid’s tantrums, get them to follow directions, share with others, and even learn a thing or two on the side? Now add in other kids along with their baby-sized baggage and never-ending neediness. The real kicker is having to do it without a flask! Believing in one person’s ability to do all that is right up there with unicorns and a damn pot ‘o gold at the end of a fucking rainbow.

 

But you told me not to worry and that everything was going to be fine. You have seen it all before. You won me over and gained my confidence immediately. I mean anyone willingly goes into teaching to be around multiple children at once and does it for little money is nothing short of fucking amazing. Well, either that or crazy!

When my daughter was shy and hid behind my leg for months and when my son cried every day for weeks, you reassured me and treated them like your own. Since then I have seen them grow in ways I could never imagine. And for this, I say thank you. Thank you for sending me little notes home about their progress, paying for their snack when I dropped the ball (multiple times), keeping him close when the Easter Bunny came, laughing at their stories and NOT holding it against me, and telling me multiple times “it’s ok kids bite.” Thank you for saying, believing, they are great kids.

Because of you, my daughter is learning to read, solve problems, and follow directions. Because of you, my boy is potty trained (mostly) and while he occasionally bitch slaps me, it is MUCH less. Thank you for teaching them to write “I love you, Mom and Dad.”

On the wall.

On the door.

On the mantle.

With permanent marker.

Because of you, my kids always feel safe in the classroom even when alarms go off and fire drills. Because of you, my kids look forward to going to school (and of course I like dropping them off!) Because of you they like to learn and have fun while doing it. That’s the gift of a lifetime.

You have made such deep impressions on them that they talk about you all the time. They name their dolls and trucks after you. I am not sure if you know this buy that’s love in my book. They draw pictures of you, sing about you, want you to come to their birthday parties, and my boy often cries when I pick him up because he says he wants to sleep at your house.

So I just want to say, “Thank you.” Thank you for the wonderful year. Few things in this life mean more than someone who willingly invests in my kids. You opened the big wide world and built a foundation for them. For this and more I am grateful. Now I have one last thing to ask you, will you sign my bra strap?

 

Love,

Your groupie

Your #1 fan

Your supporter for life

Tricia

This is dedicated to my amazing sister, a mother, teacher, and rockstar. You teach me so much about life. XOXO