Valentine's Day & Getting Sick...

I'm new to 2nd grade this year.  I've always taught upper elementary but decided to make a change this year and work with the babies.  I really had no idea what I was in for.  Sure, I don't have the same kinds of pressure (high-stakes testing, endless 5 paragraph essay grading, etc.), but there is still pressure of other kinds.  One of the biggest differences between upper and lower elementary is the expectations when it comes to holidays.  It seems that every teacher, room mother, and student is trying to out-do the others in creativity and craftiness.  And, Lord have mercy, is it intense!

One of the longstanding 2nd grade traditions at my school is the V-Day Desk Surprise event.  I seriously had not a clue until a few weeks ago when my colleagues told me to send a very secret letter home to my parents.  Basically, the letter explained that on February 13th, each 2nd grade teacher would have the classroom open for parents to stop by between 3:00-4:30 to decorate their child's desk as a surprise on Valentine's Day morning.  Those that couldn't show up brought their supplies to me early, and I took care of the decorating.  Sweet, right?

Sweet, it was.  But heavens, I was not prepared for how much some of these parents went out.

How precious is that??

Needless to say, the kids walked in to quite the spread.  It looked like someone raided the Target holiday section and dumped it right into my classroom.  While we didn't entirely forgo instruction for the day, those desks were quite the distraction.  Imagine that.

It's really hard to be off schedule when you're so used to sticking to a pretty solid routine.  Around the time of our party in the afternoon, I started to not feel 100%.  Then, I tutored after school and knew that I just wasn't feeling quite right.  By the time I got home, I was running a low-grade fever.  A fever, y'all.  So...I spent my V-Day evening in bed.  After a 3 hour nap, my fever was gone, and I was feeling pretty normal.  I seriously think I was just so run down from the busy, busy day (and lack of sleep from the night before) that my body decided to completely freak out on me.  Thankfully, I've been fever-free ever since.  :)

Valentine's Day is a time to love and be loved -- even when it's not with that one person you'll be spending the rest of your life with.  My daddy has never let me down on Valentine's Day.  He's always given my sister and me a gift on V-Day, and my mom has always given one to my brother.  Once again, he did not disappoint.  I was given a gorgeous bouquet of peach roses and the sweetest card.


I've been playing catch-up this weekend and reading everyone's Valentine's Day posts.  I've seen some of the sweetest gift giving, nights out, dinners in, and even engagement posts.  Mine was not big or exciting, by any means, but it was a great day to remember and love on the people I care about the most.

I hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend!  It's a long one for me.  Woohoo!