JJ, an AMAZING Mom!

I guess I had better not reveal the name of the woman I am about to write. I don't want to get myself in trouble on the internet. I'm just being careful, you see. If I could, I would shout her name from the rooftops and praise her as publicly as possible.

Having said that, I guess I don't really KNOW this person all that well. We don't chat on the phone, we don't go out for lunch or shopping, we don't visit each other in our homes--it's not that kind of a relationship. But I DO admire her! Boy, do I admire her. She's the kind of mom I always wanted to be, but will never have the chance to emulate.

This mom, JJ, adores her children. She has a huge loving heart for them and everybody else, including dogs and chickens. She doesn't sleep because she works at night to earn the extra money for all the extra things five children may need. Here's the thing, sometimes I feel like one of her lucky children.
Case in point: The book fair is happening right now at my elementary school. We get the book fair twice a year, and every stinkin' time it rolls around, JJ purchases a book to donate to my classroom! Do I even have any of her children in my class this year? NO! And yet, the woman gives and gives and gives. This has been going on for years as her oldest is now sixteen and she belonged to me when she was a fifth grader. I didn't get to teach the second one, but I did get the third and we'll see what happens with the others. Fortunately, there are stickers inside the donated books that say "From: The J Family" so we can always remember their generosity. With five children passing through our school, I think she may eventually single-handedly build up the classroom libraries of every single teacher on staff!

Is she doing this for glory? No. Fame? No. Because she wants to be mentioned in someone's blog post? No. She does this because she is grateful. She never forgets to thank a teacher. And she keeps thanking us year after year after year. She is so appreciative. She is so happy to share her children with us and she lets us know by treating us.

You'll never believe what she does in the spring. During Teacher Appreciation Week, she invites all of the teachers from the elementary school who have ever had one of her children in their class over to the house for lunch. They live across the street, so that works out well, but what a generous thing to do. And just so you know, her cooking is to die for!

So last night, I was conducting parent teacher conferences and in the middle of my visit with one of my student's families, in walks JJ with a brand new book from the book fair to donate to my class. She quietly placed it on the table and snuck right back out of the room. No chance for me to stand and throw my arms around her. My heart melts each and every time. I cannot get over it! I practically weep when I think of her staying up all night long working from home to supplement the family income and then staying awake taking care of children during the day (because not all of hers have made it to Kindergarten yet). How does she do it? She does a lot of other amazing things as well, but I just want to say, "THANK YOU FOR THE BOOK, JJ!!!"