A Surprise From AJ

On the night before the last day of school, AJ calls Shawn upstairs and wants to talk to him. My first thought, as always when this happens is, "I wonder what type of male problem they are discussing?". My second thought is usually, "I am so glad it is is Shawn up there and not me."

After about 20 minutes, Shawn comes back down. He does not say a word and just sits back down to finish watching t.v. I look at him, and decide that if he isn't even going to bring it up and tell me what is going on, I soooo don't want to know. It must be really bad or really gross or both. And I am at peace with that.

The next day I am in the midst of last day chaos. Hundreds of parents show up for the 5th grade promotion ceremony. That kept me busy in the front office checking everyone in and out. It turns out, when you are "Art on a Cart" and don't have a room to clean, you have a lot more free time at the end of the year than most teachers.

I was in someone's classroom relaying a message, when AJ shows up out of nowhere. He has a journal/book in his hand and gives it to me. He had gone around his class and asked all the kids to write me a message about how much they liked art. I was so touched. That was what he had been talking to Shawn about the night before.

The kids said the sweetest things. And a few of them even said they now wanted careers in art after taking my class. It was such a sweet gesture. And I was so proud and touched that he had thought of it all by himself.

Then I went home and slept for two days. I wish I was kidding.