Back To School Love Fest

School starts this week..  The parking lots are fuller than they've been since May. The front door is unlocked, to facilitate the importing of band instruments and bulletin board accouterments and plastic crates filled with the things that will fill a 9 year old's own, personal, Fourth Grade Classroom.

Parents are still registering new students with Miss Mercy, but most of the activity is generated by the teachers and staff.  No, but thank you!, the band doesn't need any more yarn with which to reward progress. Did your daughter have her baby? and there was the ever handy photo that's my phone's screen saver.

Why was I there when there were no little shoe laces to tie, no ears eager to hear about Caps for Sale, no small gardeners to advise?  I was participating in GRIN's annual Back To School Love Fest.  It was a morning filled with smiles and hugs and Thank You's.  

We collected a cart filled with sweet treats donated by my favorite (but camera shy) manager at Albertson's, and then my Principal Volunteer and I went out to the parking lot to divvy up the goodies.  Donuts and fruit bowls and raspberry confections, cakes of all sizes and descriptions, lemon loaf and other drool-ables too gooey to imagine went into our trunks

Then, armed with my pre-printed, geographically organized list, we set off to thank those who are educating our future.

Two hours and eleven Teachers' Lounge's later, we were done.  We'd been hugged and thanked and looked at with surprise.  Yes, it was the community expressing our gratitude for the work you do.  Yes, we'd done it before and most certainly Yes we'll do it again. 

Christina-Taylor was with me every step of the way, making lemonade out of lemons, one triple layer chocolate fudge cake at a time.

Have I mentioned that I am really enjoying my summer vacation?