Baby, I'm a Star

Mark's class has a web site for homework assignments and upcoming events. Today, while scrolling through the site, I saw this:

That's right, star of the week! Not as good as a bumper sticker for my car, but let's be honest--I probably wouldn't put the sticker on my car, anyway. ;-)

Every kid gets to be Star of the Week. It's a combination show-and-tell and get-to-know-me activity. The kids display family photos and other favorite items. The class views them all week, and today, Mark answers questions about them. Let's just say I'm more than a little frightened at what he'll say.

He waded through a huge stack of pictures last weekend, picking out his favorites. Some were predictable--the cats, Mark lassoing me, Mark wrestling with Uncle Brad. Some were not--the picture of his baby cousin Johnny, in a SWAT uniform. ("Do you really think the kids will believe he's a police officer?" I asked. He nodded.)

He picked out his favorite toys--Legos, a light saber, a giant 1st place soccer trophy he insisted on carrying to school himself. He picked an ink pen that looked exactly like his old insulin pen, and said, "I'm gonna ask the kids who wants a shot!" He cracked himself up with that.

We decorated the board with all of it. I taped up family photos, reminding him where they were taken. We added pictures of panthers ("because I like animals"), and Pokémon cards. There were soccer team and camp photos. There were playing cards (he loves games) and mini Star Wars posters, which prompted him to start waving the light saber around menacingly. ("For show only," I reminded him, "for show only.") The board and display looked good.

"What do you think?" I asked when we'd finished. "Looks like you have a pretty fun life!"

"Because I do," he answered. And then he frowned, obviously unhappy about something.

"I should have brought a stuffed animal," he said, and I smiled. That's what I love about this kid. He brought in all his tough guy stuff, and also his animals/pet stuff. I love that he wants to show off both his light saber and his stuffed animals.

I'm sure he'll answer most questions today with "I don't know" or "I don't remember" or maybe even make up the answers (I wouldn't put it past him). But watching him with his favorite things on display--it made me happy. I felt a rush of love for this little boy, proud that he enjoys his life so much, and loves all the people in it. He's brought so much into my life, and made it so much better.

And when I looked at that board, and that boy, I realized that my life is pretty great, too.