I'm a special education teacher. Ten kids in grades K-5, all with varying but fairly significant needs. I can't do it alone--and I've been blessed, for the 15 years I've had my classroom, to work with some of the best paraprofessionals there are. These women are smart and funny. They're incredibly good at their job. They make my life easier and the kids' lives better, and I absolutely could not (nor would I want to!) do my job without them.
They also throw a killer birthday celebration.
I think it started ten years ago, when I turned 40. One of the paras managed to convince about half of the staff in our school to celebrate me by donning my then-frequent-fashion-statement: plaid (oh, hush up. I'm fashion-impaired). Such is my oblivion to clothes, of course, that it took me at least two hours to notice what was going on--but it was fun. Subsequent years have seen a "Playmate of the Month" calendar--featuring my "playmate" cooler lunch box; an "All the Hotness" theme the year my thyroid meds made me heat up (given my current rate of hot flashes, they could have used that one again this year!); and an epic "KU" fest where they celebrated me as the head of the mythical "Kaari University" (complete with school song. These women are creative.)
So I knew something would happen this year as I
And once again they outdid themselves. Having astutely noticed my on-again, off-again affair with Diet Mountain Dew, they crafted a Mountain (as in "over the hill") Dew birthday.
There were sherpas...
Notice the Dew oxygen bottle
...and a sign.
Dew gear...
Yes, that's a Dew hat, too
Notice the "case o'Dew" balloon anchor
And best of all...
A really, really cool cake!
So thank you, ladies. As I walked out of school at the end of the day, carrying my Dew gear and "Mountain" treats and trailing my impressive clutch of balloons (one of which was playing a cheery birthday song), I couldn't help smiling. Fifty isn't looking so bad.
And I Dew know that I am truly blessed by the people in my life.
loved this!! <:)
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