The 25th Dear ____ Post

Dear Birthday, You were this past Monday. I so enjoyed you. I got to spend time with a lot of the people that mean the most to me. I got nice presents. And I got a lot of love :)

Dear Sweet Home Alabama, I so very much enjoyed visiting you this summer. I'll see you again in December. :)

Dear Trip Back to Dakar, You were nice. ...possibly even the best yet. My flights all went well. I moved through the customs line quickly. And my luggage was the first ones off the conveyer belt. This was quite possibly the quickest I've ever gone through this airport.

Dear Dakar, It's good to be back. I'm enjoying being back at work and having more of a routine every day. I'm enjoying being back with my co-workers and friends. And I'm enjoying being back in the city that I love so much :)

Dear Unpacking, I started you the day I landed and have done a little bit each day since getting back. I didn't realize how much stuff I have here until I started unpacking it. :)

Dear New Apartment, I love you. ...just so ya know :)

Dear Summer Break, You were so nice. I really enjoyed you. But all good things must come to an end and you, Summer Break, ended Thursday.

Dear Classroom Blog, I'm thinking about starting you for this school year. What do you guys think? I wonder if it'd be a good idea. Hmm... Decisions, decisions :)

Dear Pink Lemonade, I love you. In fact, you may be my new favorite drink. The problem is that you're not available in this country. So I'm having to make sure to ration you instead of going crazy. Imagine that...going crazy drinking too much pink lemonade. I'm a wild one, huh? :)

Dear Sweet Neighbor, Thank you for bringing me a yummy piece of homemade apple pie and ice cream last night. You said you brought it as a treat to keep my strength up while unpacking. :) How sweet are you! :)

Dear Co-Workers that are Friends, Not everyone can say they have these types of people in their lives, but I do. ...such a blessing :)

Dear 8, You're the number of students I'll have this year. ...7 at the beginning and 1 more in January. I am so excited about this school year and ready to meet this new group of students.

Dear Bambara, You're the ONLY language spoken by 2 of my students (siblings) this year. This is a tribal language primarily spoken in the West African country of Mali. I'm hoping to learn a few phrases before students start on Wednesday. I've been told there are a couple DA employees that speak the language, so maybe I can have a quick language lesson. :)

Dear Proud Aunt, Yep. That's me. :)

And speaking of which....

Dear Blog Readers, I'd like to introduce you to my niece, Daisy Olivia Nichols. My sister-in-law went into labor just a few hours after I left coming back to Dakar and Daisy was born, Wednesday, August 8th, as beautiful as can be :)