for the love of...

It seems like a reasonable time to list all the great things about my job (translation: I am having more frequent fantasies of booting various teenagers in the ass and/or heading straight to a bar at 2:01 tomorrow).

1. Students who ask frequently if they can please be in my classes
2. Students who request book suggestions, don't grimace about every title I point out, and actually check out the books I recommend
3. Students who are following The Catcher in the Rye enough to provide insightful comments (example: "I think Holden picks other people apart because he's really lonely and doesn't like himself." Wha?? Who are you and what have you done with my sophomore?)
4. Students who are writing nose-to-comp-book for 10 entire minutes during prompt time, without complaint
5. Lunch with only grown-ups
6. My classroom heater still works most of the time
7. My radiant space heater still works all of the time
8. No active leaks around my windows
9. The new 14-pack of dry erase markers in assorted colors (though I do deliberate a tad long each time I want to write something)
10. Students who pop into my room to say "hi" after school while waiting for parents to pick them up
11. Students who offer music recommendations (without first remarking on my awful, old-person taste)
12. Students who sincerely compliment my shoes, sweaters, and watches
13. Smiling faces, especially from the ones who I know would much rather be skateboarding or drawing or smoking at any given moment
14. Weekends are far more meaningful