The other day I posted a posted a quote I found on Ethan Nichtern's instagram account which was a repost from Fuck Jerry. It said, "Fuck the real world, in elementary school the whole classroom was your Valentine. We were in this shit together."
Though this quote is said like a sailor, it has some deeply profound truth to it and I feel so damn blessed to have job where I am surrounded by children who teach me how to be a better adult.
I must admit at first, I was a bit judgmental of my co-teachers' enthusiasm for the holiday. I was hating on all that crafty shit, and the hearts and glitter...eww...What a way to buy into the hallmark holiday I thought.
But as I started to see the excitement on my students' faces as they constructed and decorated their Valentines Day mail boxes, that hardened part of my heart started to loosen a bit...and I reminded myself of my commitment to turn every judgment of mine into a curiosity.
And so I did....I got curious about their enthusiasm and I joined them..and guess what? I had fun! I enjoyed the glittery hearts and stickers...I thoroughly enjoyed copying my students creative ideas and working along side of them to turn my own "mistakes" into opportunities. A teacher has to be willing to learn the lessons they are trying to teach others....
After school I printed a bunch of hearts on some card stock paper and went out and purchased about 60 Valentines Day pencils. I then returned home and sat by the fire ready to begin my factory style Valentines assembly line. I cut each heart out one by one, I then punched a heart shaped hole into it, attached a pencil with a red ribbon, and proceed to write each kid a note wishing them love and laughter in all of their days….My factory line become a meditation on love...
Every time that annoying voice popped up saying that I was wasting my time or that my handwriting was ugly, or that I could have cut the hearts out better...I told those thoughts to take a back fucking seat....
I instead chose to think about the gift I have as a teacher and as a human being to have my heart touch and be touched by another human life.
I began to imagine what it would be like to cut a paper heart out for each of the beautiful and unique souls who have come into my life in one way or another....Oh so many!….some know the impact they’ve had on my life…and many more who don’t….
I imagined a room wall papered with paper hearts….Hearts of family members, friends, old boyfriends, students, co-workers, people I’ve danced with, people I’ve met in my travels, people I have sung with, cried with, celebrated with, people who have shared a smile with me in a subway train and people whose names I don’t remember but whose essence flavors my existence…..Wow….This is what Valentines Day is all about!
And the following day surrounded by the beautiful chaos of students delivering Valentines to one another …I witnessed what love is really about…its about our connection to one another and to everyone and every living thing ……and my fifth graders know that and they are helping me to remember that….
Thank You!
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