thankful, great god a'mighty, for this life i've been living... for a mother and a father who made the right choices... for this perfectly imperfect world... for brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews i wish i knew to love better... for old friends who still are - and those all gone one way or another... for new friends who stand for all of our tomorrows... for homeroom each day and five classes each day... for 113 students this year who make me want to get up in the morning... for being able and free to know and think, to wonder and guess, to read and say and be quiet as i want to be... for being able and free to make a change...

thankful, great god a'mighty, for this roundish flat tilt-a-whirl earth full of rocks and dirt, wind and steam, lightning and puddles - all crazy mineral vegetable animal complexity... for cats and dogs, snakes and spiders, terrible beauty...

thankful, great god a'mighty, for the chance to do better, to be braver and smarter, wilder and kinder...

thankful, great god a'mighty, for all this other stuff too...

Nothing you do for children is ever wasted. They seem not to notice us, hovering, averting our eyes, and they seldom offer thanks, but what we do for them is never wasted.

Garrison Keillor