March 13, 2011
One of my fellow English teachers is writing a new curriculum for her 6th graders and she invited me to her house for lunch and then we were going to work on her "Author's Work" (or her "Crazy Work" as we fondly call it!)
I was running a little behind leaving the house at noon, so I quickly rummaged through my belongings trying to find some small gift for my hostess. The best I could come up with was a deck of "Missouri Playing Cards" and a few pieces of chocolate. I threw it in some scraps of tissue paper I'd saved from Christmas and called it a gift.
We ate lunch and finished her Crazy Work, then her son (my 8th grade student) peeked into the room with the cards in hand.
"Miss Flaker, do you know any games?" he asked in anticipation. Ha, do I know games?!? Of course I know card games! I taught them Speed, Slap Jack, War, ERS, and Spoons.
As the sun dipped lower on the horizon, the family sat around the table playing cards, laughing, and singing chants about who was the champion. And for a few brief hours, they let me be a part of their family.
My gift was a mere trinket I dug out of a forgotten suitcase, but they may have been the best gift I've ever given. (And it certainly gave me even more in return.)
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