I Love My Dad!

I am a pretty lucky gal! I don't think I take much for granted and this month I've been really trying to think about all that there is to be grateful for. My list is never-ending but today I am so thankful to have amazing parents that I not only love, but I like. It can sometimes be easier to love someone than to like them (I don't know if that makes sense... but to me it does). My parents help us out in so many ways and I sincerely believe that had they not been around to help out with the kids, we would not have been able to have so many. My folks get the Bigs on the bus each and every morning and the Littles only go to 'school' three days a week (my folks babysit the other two days). It is still really expensive to us, but if we had to put them in five days a week- plus prime time care for the Bigs in the morning... I can't imagine! And perhaps more importantly I can't imagine getting everyone up- fed- moving to different locations and then me to work to face 23 energetic first graders! While I (obviously) love both of my parents, this post is about my dad (hi dad- reader of blogs- but afraid to comment...).

My dad comes early in the morning (3x a week, my mom the other 2) and will announce to the kids that "The Drapal kitchen is now open." He serves them all breakfast allowing me time to run around and get everything packed up and ready (no matter how organized I am, I am never organized enough). The kids love the "Drapal Kitchen" and there was even a sign on our fridge for some time that Joe made that said, "Drapal Kitchen- Open" on one side and "Drapal Kitchen- Closed" on the other. The Bigs would run to switch it to "Open" anytime he came with his "Sunny D" and "yummy toast" (things he would bring to make breakfast a little more special). It is little things like that- that I don't want to forget (hence my diary/blog and this post).
While my parents save me (with my kids) nearly every day, they also save me with those other kids I have... The ones who refer to me as "Mrs. Doran". Every Friday I have a "Mystery Reader" who comes to my class to read. Throughout the day I give my students clues to the Reader's identity (general clues so a handful of students will still think that the Mystery Reader is someone they know) and right before the Mystery Reader comes in at the end of the day, I reveal the last (and obvious) clue to the class. It is one of my most favorite times of the week because they LOVE seeing someone they love read to their peers. Last Friday, I got to see what that felt like!

My scheduled Mystery Reader couldn't come in because her son was sick, so I did what I always do... Call my parents! My dad answered first so I asked him if he'd come in and read to my class! He said he would and I asked him if I should choose a book for him?- Did he want to bring one from home?- He asked me if I had "The Giving Tree" (I was happy he had a book he wanted to read). I told him I'd put it in the office so he could come and get it and practice. He said he didn't need to practice but he'd come a little early to look it over.

When he got to school (a little early), he found the book and started reading~ and it made him cry (good thing he practiced early). I (of course) didn't know this until after he was done reading to my class and they were long gone. My dad is not a crier~ but he does have a soft heart (usually when it is related to baseball- like when we are watching sports movies like "The Natural" or "Field of Dreams" or something like that). His eyes did stay dry as he read to my students and he did a great job pausing to ask my students questions to make sure they were comprehending the deeper meaning of the book (like a good teacher should- and he's a good teacher- he's taught me a lot!) I was really proud of him and happy that I got to share my dad with my kids. Thanks dad! I love you (and I really like you too!)! And like that tree, thank you for always giving so freely to someone you love so much (me).