Unwrapping is Overrated

It's been another thrillingly exhaustive day at the NCTE conference. So far I've teared up during Erin Gruwell's speech about her Freedom Writers, pondered attending Indiana University so I could spend more time with four professors who presented new contexts for teaching literature, found inspiration from the National Teacher of the Year, scored a ton of free books, including autographs from David Levithan (author of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist), Mary McDonagh Murphy (author of Scout, Atticus & Boo), and, my favorite, Tony Romano (author of When the World was Young and If You Eat, You Never Die), and, most importantly, presented with Jodi Douglas, Gary Anderson, and the aforementioned Tony Romano. The Writers Week presentation went well in front of a small, but attentive crowd who expressed great interest in exploring the possibility at their schools.

During all of the sessions this morning, I chuckled a few times, laughed a few more, but nothing prepared me for the giggling that came when I got back to my room, checked Facebook, and found the following post from my wife, who's been burdened with my morning responsibilities this week:

"So I sat some oatmeal and a mini muffin in front of [The Wubster] this morning and when I turned back around, the muffin, wrapper and all, was gone. Guess I'll just be thankful it wasn't a foil wrapper."

Bringing the day full circle, I had tears in my eyes once more. I've only been away two days, but I miss my kiddos and the laughter they bring into our lives. While they may test our patience by not listening and spiraling into tantrums when we'd rather they didn't, they are our amazing creations and I cherish them with every ounce of my soul.

After reading Rachel's post, I sat imagining the scene and what might have crossed that two-year-old brain as mouth closed upon papery muffin. Oh, if only we knew!

Walking around these Disney resorts, I imagine the kids are with me, thrilled by the elaborate swimming pools, fascinated by the vivid colors, ecstatic at the prospect of meeting Mickey and the gang. I look forward to bringing them to this most magical place on earth, but we should probably wait until they won't throw tantrums they're all old enough to form lasting memories of the trip.