Friday afternoons are sacred for a teacher.  Most other afternoons we stick around after school to take care of odds and ends, tutor students, grade papers, etc.  On Fridays, though, we schedule nothing.  Usually I'm out the door a maximum of fifteen minutes after students are required to leave the building.  Today I stayed almost an hour after the bell, and I am so glad that I did.  

I was just getting ready to leave when my assistant principal called my name from down the hall.  

"Ms. ___________?" 

"Yes?" I replied.  

It took him a few seconds to get to my door as I sat wondering what he could possibly have to talk to me about on a Friday afternoon.  He stuck his head in my door.  "There's an angry parent here who wants to talk to you.  Do you have a minute?"  

Ahhhhh!  What?!  I started racking my brain as to who might be upset and came up with nothing major.  Certainly nothing that would prompt a parent to come up to school an hour after dismissal on a Friday afternoon.  I asked him who it was and he avoided the question.  Then he awkwardly pretended to radio the office assistant, who had long gone home by this point, to ask her who it was.  At this point I had started walking to the door and saw a woman appear holding a GORGEOUS bouquet of flowers for me!  

"Haha it was too easy.  I had to do it to you.  Sorry, but I knew you'd do the same thing to me."  

(It's true.  This is the same assistant principal whose name I drew for Secret Santa and presented him with an entire week's worth of prank gifts until giving him something good on the last day.)

I was so excited!  That doesn't really do it justice.  I was beaming!  Seriously.  Few things make a girl feel more special than receiving flowers.  

The a.p. then waited in anticipation to find out who had sent them.  "Is there some hot guy you haven't told us about yet?"  

"Uhhhhhhh, no?" 

I opened the card and smiled even more... my beloved Katy, Katrina, Jenny, and Meg sent me this surprise with a note to tell me they were proud of me.  

"Man, you have good friends!" 

Agreed.  My girls are the best. 

(The green pom-pom ones are my favorite!) 

Also, I want to give a shout out to madre, who celebrates a big birthday today.  Happy birthday Mom!