um excuse me, miss l? this IS living the dream.

art linkletter once said that 'kids say the darndest things'. i doubt that art knew anyone quite like my students. and i highly doubt he would call the things they say 'the darndest'. most of what they say shocks me. i couldnt make it up if i tried. but sometimes they surprise me. and apparently, sometimes they also listen to me. . .

im pretty ocd about alot of things. one of those is words. i dont know exactly why, but its always been that way. i think i attribute it to my love of reading. ive read a bazillion and one books in my life so far. and still going. so im pretty much obsessed with words. new words, overused words, out of the blue words, words ill never use in context and words i use everyday.  ive been trying to start my blog for weeks. and i couldnt find the right words to express my thoughts.  i needed to start with the right words. it sounds crazy, but its me. and i just knew i couldnt start until i had them. which brings me to today. 

ask anyone i speak to, living the dream is a favorite phrase of mine. i use it all the time. its probably annoying but i cant help it. my students have heard me use it quite a bit this year. today they were discussing problems in their school, putting them into perspective, deciding which was the largest problem affecting the most people, and choosing it for a problem-solution essay. this was how it went:

tf:  man, we did good. alls we got left is one problem.

me: (overhearing)  yes, you did. write this essay, get that out of the way, and youll be....? anybody?

bw: youre gona say living the dream.

tf: but um, excuse me, miss l? if thats our only problem, this IS living the dream. 

could you just kiss him?!?! he then explained to me that he sees why i use the phrase. because we really are living the dream. especially compared to other people who have much bigger problems than us. is it sad that i never thought of it that way? that i usually use it sarcastically, or to make a joke? that it took hearing it from a child to really understand the meaning? i dont think so. people often say that to be a good speaker, you have to listen. i think to be a good teacher, you have to continue to learn. dont get me wrong. this kid isnt ghandi incarnate. hes fresh from a three day suspension for fist fighting. hes often disrespectful and he neverrr does his homework. but somewhere in his heart, he found those words. and i borrowed them. because theyre the words i was looking for. theyre the right words.