Gratitude: Celebrity Edition

Today was a day I’d been looking forward to since June. I caught wind that someone I admire, idolize, and want to be when I grow up would be coming to Omaha to do a workshop for 125 metro area teachers.

When my attendance approval arrived from the district, I started planning the day. What would I wear? Would I be able to corner him and ask him questions? Would he answer? Would I ask for his autograph? Would I make a complete fool out of myself?

Would he live up to my expectations?

As luck would have it, he ate lunch at my table. But someone else monopolized his time, so I couldn’t ask my burning questions (How do you publish AND grade papers AND plan lessons AND have a life?).

And then, he ran a breakout session for AP teachers, but I was so intimidated that I couldn’t have fashioned a question if someone had put a stack of word dice in front of me.

As my friend Nikki and I walked to our next session, this Rock Star English teacher, who was walking right behind us, remarked that he should have told the group about his first day of teaching AP.

Instead, he told us.

Just me and Nikki.

And there I was, listening to him tell his story about his first day of AP. I felt reassured. I felt happy. I felt almost as heady as I did when Harry Connick, Jr. looked at me THREE TIMES when I saw him in concert.

So here is what I’m grateful for today:

1. A warm, sunny day in November.

2. A district that, despite current frustrations, still gives teachers professional development opportunities.

3. Celebrities who live up to real-life expectations.