Almost normal (for me, anyway)... just a few more days on the antibiotics, breathing is getting better.  Whew. Aced Saturday's anatomy exam, whew.   Best part of today?  My new student teacher started today.  We had met briefly before and had some phone conversations, but this was the first full school day we've spent together.  She hasn't had a lot of elementary experience to date, but at the end of the day she made some excellent observations about what young children are like.  And she's not afraid to dive into an activity with the children... so she's going to be a fast learner.  It's going to be a good semester. Cool thing about the mentor-teacher role: so much of my time is spent helping the young child learn that it's a refreshing change of pace to work with an adult mind.  I like seeing the change in understanding that experience with children gives the adult.  With children the growth is gradual and takes place over a long time, the steps are smaller.  I only have 14 weeks with the college student - it never ceases to amaze me the kind of growth that can occur in that short amount of time. Plus, this particular student has great energy and a quick, perceptive mind.  woo hoo!  I just hope **I** can keep up! ...and that last statement is not a false modesty thing.  A reality of teaching is that every student I have changes ME in some way.  I learn something new every year about what childhood looks like and how development manifests itself.  I learn something from every adult student about clarity and articulating the skill sets involved in being an instructor AND in establishing relationships with children.  They observe me so intensely that I learn something new about how I appear to my students. It keeps me from getting stale and/or complacent.  It's the gift the student gives the teacher (even if the student is never aware of it).  It is what has kept me teaching for the last 27 years, and will keep me teaching for the next 15 - 20 at least!