1st Grade

The main reason we went back to Tennessee when we did was because of the gaggle pictured below. This is my precious class at Beaumont Elementary, an inner-city school in Knoxville. Before moving to Portland, I spent a little time each week, along with my friend Tiff, hanging out with these guys, usually offering some much needed one-on-one time with a few whose home lives would break your heart. When I moved in November I became their pen pal, sending them postcards from across the country {I mailed 25 cards in total...you can see a few taped to the lockers behind us}, hopefully broadening their world ever so slightly. I snuck into their room one day last week to surprise them on their next-to-last day of school. They were thrilled. I was thrilled. Seriously, if you ever feel in need of more love in your life, a group of 1st grade kids should do the trick. I received more hugs in the span of an hour than I've probably received all year.

In case you're curious about the outfits, it was pajama day. So here we are, minus two kids who were absent. Deanne, their amazing teacher, is seated in front. Steven Spielberg's in the back {seriously I have no clue who this guy is but he was in the room at the time so we all told him to get in the picture}. The little guy on the far right in the Incredible Hulk pajamas...that's William. Over Christmas he went to Atlanta with his family and brought the class back four postcards to mail to me. My heart melts just typing that sentence.

I also got a lot of letters like this over the past six months, plus many more asking me to move back to Tennessee. No one can guilt trip you like a six year old. So I did come back, even though it was just for a small amount of time. I wanted them to know they are worth traveling across the country for.

So of all the ridiculous adventures I've been on over the past year, this one was the most special and the most important. And if nothing else, each of these kids will be able to locate Oregon on a map for the rest of their lives.