tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718860326518655248.post-3601894876778624692008-04-21T20:43:00.000-07:002008-04-21T20:47:09.304-07:00I have so much more than I ever could have wished for...such an unexpected, and truly wonderful evening :-)<br /><br />I'm just back from my last of an 8-week Writing for Children class it was my honour to teach. I've enjoyed sharing all the information I've gathered over the years, and there's nothing I love to talk about more than writing for children...except tonight, I was rendered speechless!<br /><br />When I left to plug another Loonie in the meter, my dear students carried out a plan--something they'd apparently been working on for a while. On my return I noticed a wooden box. A lovely box, all antiquey and kinda pirately looking. Just the kind of box I love.<br /><br />"It's an Anita box!" Natalie explained, grinning. "Open it!"<br /><br />They'd filled it with personal notes, and presents--really special presents. Each one had meaning, inspired by something or other I'd babbled about during our classes, usually an anecdote or an aside.<br /><br />There were binder clips to keep me organized--totally cool ones with punctuation marks decorating each one.<br /><br />Chocolate, because I mentioned I love chocolate (of course I did--no one should ever neglect to mention something so important). Four rectangles with Chinese symbols meaning "dream," "love," "happiness," and "peace."<br /><br />A leather bound journal--something any writer would love--because we talked about journaling of different sorts, and I'd shared my personal experiences with it.<br /><br />A fridge magnet with the words," Blessed are we who can laugh at ourselves for we shall never cease to be amused." I couldn't agree more :-)<br /><br />A magnetic poetry kit, because I mentioned once or seven times how sucky I am at writing poetry.<br /><br />A box of very special teas, beautifully presented in flavours of Cocoa Truffle, Belgian Mint, Raspberry Nectar, Orchid Vanilla, Vienna Cinnamon, and White Ambrosia. They know I love my teas :-) Every week I brought my electric kettle, and a selection of teas--for me, and any who cared to join me.<br /><br />A book called Horse Dreams: The Meaning of Horses in Women's Lives. I don't think that one needs any explaining. If it does...you haven't been paying attention :-)<br /><br />A zip-up sport jacket from THE WEAKERTHANS! No, REALLY!!!! I mentioned during one of our classes how wonderful I think they are, and such terrific writers. WELL! One of my students works with a woman who is married to one of the Weakerthans. She asked if she could have some little bit of band merchandise for me, and they said she could pick out anything from the basement. She chose this, and it has their Curling theme logo on the back. It was in an actual Weakerthan's basement! AN ACTUAL WEAKERTHAN TOUCHED IT!!!<br /><br />Let me have my fan girl moment :-) I'll be fine in a minute, I promise :-)<br /><br />A bottle of wine. Red. From South Africa. I may have mentioned my fave was such a wine. This one was new to me, but the write-up on the label makes it my new favourite. It's called The Cloof of Cellar Blend. The blurb reads: We'd love to tell you that we spent days agonizing over the make-up of...." It goes on in a lovely, humour-filled way which you can read for yourself when you pick up a bottle, and ends, "...but even for us, 43,000 bottles is quite a lot of wine to get through. Enjoy it!"<br /><br />Think I'll do just that. I'm off for "a wee sip" as my Nana used to call it, and to read the notes from my lovely, lovely students.<br /><br />Peace :-)Anita Daherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03258818779322124700noreply@blogger.com