Avocation and Vocation

My all time favorite teacher, who happened to be both of my children's kindergarten teacher, used to share with me, often, that she was the luckiest person ever as her avocation was the same as her vocation. She loved, loved, loved her job, and she loved, loved, loved those kiddos and everything about them! At the time I was so appreciative and in awe of her but also thought, "Gosh, you need a hobby!" I can't claim to anywhere near her amazing league, but I do get it now. There is something so incredibly amazing about the wonder of young kiddos. Their enthusiasm is contagious! And while I definitely do have hobbies, I can't resist a conversation with a 3 or 4 year old when the opportunity comes up. Actually I love talking to kids of all ages, they simply amaze me. Babies? Not so much my thing...it's OK, Dave's totally into babies (and puppies), so I let him cover me there. So, I'm very lucky to get paid to do what I do, which is, basically, having conversations with 3 and 4 year olds all day long! I get to pepper it with 5-11 year old chats sporadically, too, which rocks! At the end of the week I feel a bit like the flower I painted...it's a tiring gig, ya know. But it is so very wonderful and I almost cried today when one of my students did something simply amazing. Give me a weekend to recharge with my family, friends, and painting, and I've got all new petals and am ready to rock.