Dear Boston

Dear Boston,

Today is our 1 year anniversary, and I thought I'd write you a note to commemorate this incredible year and to remind you of the significance of the date in case you'd forgotten. (Although, who am I kidding? You pride yourself on keeping track of all major events; heck, you even celebrate a tea party that happened hundreds of years ago! And Patriots' Day? What is Patriots' Day anyways? But that's another conversation for another time...)

While we have only officially been together for the past year, our relationship actually began when I was 15, although I didn't realize it at the time. In fact, I was completely turned off by you. You were cold, rude, rushed, and did I mention cold? It was hard for me to see beyond your rough exterior into your heart, and to be quite honest, it didn't help your case that my parents wanted me to like you; there was more than a little teenage rebellion going on in my animosity toward you. I spent as much time as I could trying to get away from you and finally succeeded, unaware of how much I would miss you once I was gone. But, to be fair, you did very little to help win me over at first. I mean, the Red Sox didn't start winning until after I'd left you. That didn't occur to you beforehand? I took it as a kind gesture and began speaking of you more fondly, but I didn't even consider getting back together with you until the Red Sox won again three years later. Then, I knew you were serious about making this work.

But let's not run away with ourselves: I don't want to say that this year with you has been all sunshine and roses. For example, there was that massive miscommunication we had about the month of April. You thought it was supposed to be winter when I had clearly indicated that I wanted it to be springtime. We've gotten that all sorted out now, though, and I honestly couldn't stay mad at you for long when I reflected on how many snow days you had lavished on me in December and January. (Seems like you learned your lesson from the Red Sox; winning a woman's heart earlier on is much easier than trying to make up for mistakes later!)

But in the end, Boston, I have to admit that I would not want to be with anyone else. You keep me on my toes: whether it's enjoying a snowstorm one day and a sunny 60-degree day the next; navigating the multiple (and, might I add, completely unmarked) intersections where three lanes of traffic suddenly merge into one; simultaneously cheering the Red Sox and cursing the Yankees, whether or not both teams are actually playing; or trying to decipher the dry humor of my favorite auto mechanic, there is never a dull moment with you. You provide me with endless entertainment, and virtually any type of food my little heart could desire (and I had no idea how often I would be letting you provide me with dinner this year, so that is definitely an aspect of our relationship for which I am thankful)! Most importantly, you make me feel like I can be myself. I never have to dress up to be with you (and, in fact, most people who spend time with you don't)! I can be loud and opinionated and sometimes painfully clueless about social norms, and you just make me feel like I fit right in.

While I'm not ready for any long-term, clearly-defined commitment, Boston, I think we may just have started down a long and beautiful road together. At the very least, I hope so. Here's to you, Boston! And here's to us. Happy anniversary!

Love,
Sarah

Good News and Teacher Appreciation

Two happy posts in one today:

1) My dad's MRI came back clean, which means no brain cancer, at least for now! I can't describe what a huge relief this is. At the same time, he is still experiencing all the symptoms which led the doctors to believe there might be brain cancer in the first place, and they now have no reason why. Symptoms minus the cancer is obviously the better scenario, but it is frustrating to live through severe pain and nausea without any idea what is causing them or way to alleviate the symptoms. If you could still pray that they would find what is causing these (especially the nausea) and be able to stop them, or at least diminish them, my family and I would be grateful. My dad's blog post on this is here.

2) This past week was teacher appreciation week, and, like in most areas, my school's philosophy was, "Why do a little when we could do a lot?" Every day, there were copious amounts of food from parents waiting for us in the teacher's office. Colombian fried cheese balls -- bunuelos -- were my favorite; basically, imagine something that tastes like a hush puppy but is the size of a baseball, and that's a buneulo. (Then try to imagine how my pants were fitting after eating 5 of these. On second thought, don't try to imagine that.)

In addition to all of the amazing food, there were flowers (which may be getting recycle for Mother's Day -- shhhhhh), massages, and a surprise trip out to dinner and the beach in a legitimate party bus, the likes of which I have only seen on MTV.

All of these made it an absolutely delightful week; everyone should get an "Insert-your-job-here Appreciation Week" because even though mine was completely over the top, it really does remind you that your work is important and valuable. On that note, however, one party was decidedly silent during Teacher Appreciation Week: our students. They were either unaware of the week (most likely) or, in typical teenage fashion, hesitant to engage in behavior that would make adults happy. But a few weeks before, they did write me fantastic letters to thank me for writing their high school recommendations. Granted, this was an assignment for another class, and granted, some of them were less than stellar, but a lot of them were very sweet and encouraging. My favorites, however, were the students who I believe genuinely intended to be sweet and encouraging, but have not yet fully mastered the art of giving a compliment.

Example A: "English class was great this year. I enjoyed myself in so many ways; even when you made your jokes that were supposed to make people laugh but they didn't. Just knowing you were trying to make our class better, I was already happy." I'm very thankful that my students give me points for effort in the humor deparatment. I'm even more thankful when they REMIND me that they are giving me points for effort, not success.

Example B: "You have worked so hard for us, and all of those students who don't realize it, one day, they will look back and feel horrible because you did everything you could for us." My mentor teacher and I laughed out loud when we read this. We think we should put it up as a banner in our office: "One day, they will look back and feel horrible." Good things to be encouraged by.

To all of you who don't get one, Happy Appreciation Week, and may you be appreciated in ways both as wonderful and as ironic as I have been this week. :)