Happy Teachers' Day

"Everybody who does something good, important, and valuable deserves a day in their honor."

In Lebanon, they celebrate teachers' day on the second Friday/Saturday of March. The best thing about this day is that it's an official school holiday - we, teachers, love holidays more than the kids :D- and the loads of flowers I get every year, especially the natural ones .
This year, there will be no celebration because of "el wad3 el rahen". Still, me and Mama went out and celbrated it in our own way. Mom was a teacher too.. like mother like daughter.. or as we say in Arabic teb el jarrah 3a temma, el bent btetla3 la emma :D

I always remember my teachers on this day, actually I always think and dream of them. They are an inseparable part of my nostalgic memories and dreams. I wish I can let them know that I truly appreciate their efforts at a time when the teacher’s hard work is not really appreciated.

Last year, we decided to go for a visit to the place where we lived for 12 years. We had a plan where to go and whom to visit. Yet, I found myself taking a different road and heading to the school where I used to study and Mom used to teach at.
I stopped at the gate… amazed..excited.. like the girl who suddenly found herself in wonderland. As I walked through the playground.. into the school building.. I was that little girl again… jumping here.. running there… watching with pride her new drawing displayed on the bulletin board… sitting there.. reading her favorite book.. all the memories came flooding back… and a nostalgic heartache took hold of me.
The school hasn’t changed much, but the teachers have and so have I, they didn’t recognize me until they saw my mother. In their presence, I was the little shy girl again… not a grown up lady.. a teacher just like them.. a mate..
They asked about my experience in teaching, and I couldn’t imagine myself talking to them as “mates”, my answers were like those of a child questioned by his teachers.
We talked for a while, and then I left them discussing various issues with Mom, and decided to take a tour around my lovely school… the classrooms, the art room, the laboratory, and my favorite spot, the library. I once won the prize of the best reader of the school. Ironically, the prize was a book that I never read.
Suddenly, while checking the bulletin boards of the entrance, I spotted something familiar! To my BIG SURPRIZE, I found a small painting with my full name and “12 years old” written on it. Eeeeek, unbelievable! 12 years? Oh my God, I was 25 then, which means that this painting has been there for 13 years??!! I don’t believe it! I rushed inside to tell mother, I took her by the hand and led her to the place where my painting was. It felt like I found a treasure :)

To my teachers and all the teachers over there, you deserve to be honored and appreciated. Happy Teachers’ Day!