I had a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner. My family went up to the lake and feasted on turkey, mashed potatoes with garlic, cornbread dressing, green beans with bacon, mexican cornbread muffins, and EIGHT DIFFERENT TYPES OF PIE!!!

The break, however fleeting, was certainly welcome. I am absolutely exhausted at this point, and I am scared to death that I am somehow transferring this exhaustion to my classroom. Am I giving them enough of myself? Am I assigning enough work? Am I challenging them? The reality is that the students are working hard, and hopefully they are learning something important about themselves (and maybe a little something about English, too).

Today a couple of my students said I reminded them of Hilary Swank in Freedom Writers. I almost cried.