Some Days Are Better Than Others

Yesterday at the end of the day, I have to admit I wasn't feeling overly successful.  I was telling a fellow teacher that, and she asked me, "Are you wishing you were retiring at Christmas?" and I said, "No, I would feel like a complete failure!" 
Today I had cajoled a friend,Val, who has just retired as a high school home economics teacher to come in to teach my class how to make peace dove Christmas ornaments.  Another friend, a retired teacher, came to help as well.  Now a project that Val thought would take an hour took all morning and I was still finishing up with a few when my class had choir in the afternoon, but it was a total success.  At the end of the day everyone had a peace crane and knew a heck of a lot more about sewing than they did previously.  Most of them really hadn't sewn anything until today.
Of course I should have taken pictures but I was just a bit too busy so this blog will get finished tomorrow because I know you will want to see the finished project.  I am writing this today because who knows how I will feel tomorrow and the experience won't be so immediate.
Today was wonderful.  They were really  proud of their creations.  They were in the zone of creation  and were working well cooperatively.  The usual stars weren't necessarily the usual stars.  They were also experiencing the exhilaration of trying something new and succeeding.
I had the joy of having "an expert" enable me to do something out of my comfort zone, teaching sewing.  Val was great, figuring out how much fabric we needed, providing the pattern, cutting fabric pieces etc.  and then providing the model and instructions and coaching.  Sandy, both a teacher and an accomplished needlewoman, was great cutting thread, helping thread needles etc.  I could never have pulled this off without them being there.  You may remember I am teaching my own art this year for the first time in decades!
I think one of the funniest moments was when Renfil couldn't remember Val's name and called her Mrs. Beautiful. 

I think we often try to do too many things in a teaching day and  we lose the thread of what is really important.  This may be why I was feeling rather fragmented on Wednesday.  Anyway thanks to my friends,  we all had a great day today and I am looking forward to tomorrow!