Open-house-athon

I have had three open houses in the last two weeks.  Last week I went to Asher's (third grade) and had my own at the high school.  Tonight I'm going to Zoe's (sixth grade).  I'm pretty sick of open houses.  I like meeting teachers and parents, but it's too much of a good thing.  It's also weird to be on both sides of the equation, because I understand the nervousness on everyone's parts.  As a teacher, I feel totally on stage and stared at, which I react to by talking too quickly and trying to be funny (luckily most of the parents at my school are nice and give me courtesy laughs).  As a parent, I want the teacher to know who I am and acknowledge the greatness of my child, but without seeming pushy.  Both roles are just about impossible to pull off with grace.  As I'm getting older, though, I'm definitely more comfortable just being myself.  I guess that's one good thing about my forties.

A website I really like is called kindovermatter.com -- it encourages people to do more random acts of kindness in daily life, like leaving encouraging cards in public places for other people to find.  Here was my card drop today:

 

I don't know why but it makes me happy to do this.