Hero of the Day!

Originally posted on Miss P’s Ponderings on May 22, 2012

“Faster than a speeding bullet!
More powerful than a locomotive!
Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane!”.

The above line is from D.C. Comics and is referring to….Hmmm, let me think.

It’s SUPER-MAN!

Well, I’ve never met a super hero, but a year or so ago…I started telling people they were my “hero of the day”.  What do you have to do to gain this “high honor”?  Well, you don’t have to be faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, or able to jump tall buildings in a single bound.  All you do to gain this title is…”make my day”.  (Hmmm, isn’t that the tag line of a Clint Eastwood character?)

Anyway, I thought I should give some writing time to honor my everyday heroes…people who have been a blessing to me.

First, I must honor today’s three heroes…

The first hero was a kindergarten teacher who willingly shared some rubber cement when my container was empty.

Then, Penny, from the school office, brought me a container of rubber cement to use as well.  You see, it takes a lot to make my picture pages and to prepare my writing samples for the end-of year books.

Finally, my ultimate hero of the day today…was Patches.  She is the mother of one of my sweet girls and she spent the WHOLE day working in my classroom.  She assembled bags for an edible science activity later this week dealing with rocks and minerals.  Then, she made four photo pages for each of my 25 students.  (Yep, you calculated correctly…she made 100 picture pages.)  Then, she began sorting out my student work samples, so I can assemble my end-of-year books at the end of the week.  That’s not all…she’s coming back again tomorrow.  What a wonderful blessing!

Then…we’ll go back to Saturday.  I came in to work in my classroom.  Since I was out of my room on Monday, I needed to organize my classroom lesson plans for a substitute to follow, do some cleaning, and end-of-year organization in my classroom.  I printed the color-coded lesson plans and went over to get them from the printer.  Surprise, surprise!  The door was locked.  What did I do?  I called my principal and explained the situation.  He could’ve just agreed to get the plans for me yesterday and put them in my room.  However, he knows me and my “methodical” personality…so he drove over to the school on a Saturday morning to unlock the door, so I could get my plans and organize my room in “Jodi-fashion”.  Yep, Mr. Watson was my hero of the day on Saturday.

Which brings us back to yesterday… It’s always a bit stressful to be out of the room.  I like knowing what’s going on in my classroom.  However, I had the blessing of having “Mrs. B.” as my sub.  I knew she wouldn’t let the kids get out-of-control, my lesson plans would be followed, and my classroom would be a safe place in my absence.  Yes, she was my “hero of the day” on Monday.

I can go back farther…to when either Marvin or Kevin, our “tech guys”, were my “hero of the day”.  Whether it was fixing a printer that refused to cooperate…changing toner in the color printer so I could print something I needed quickly…or dealing with a contrary computer which was choosing to be uncooperative.

Then, there are my parents who frequently are my “daily hero” as they invite me for dinner after a long day at school, pick up things I leave at home and bring them to me at school, pick up a birthday meal for our grade level teachers when someone picks a place that doesn’t deliver.  Of course, there’s also feeding my “attack cat” when I’m out of town…or taking my garbage out back when I’m leaving and returning home in the dark.  Yes, there are many days my parents are my daily award recipient.

However, there have been plenty of times children have fulfilled the position.  Whether it’s bringing me artwork or a sweet treat, they often do little things to “make my day”.  Sometimes…they get the honor simply by behaving respectfully and allowing us to have a productive and positive day.

Yet, the honor isn’t only pointed at school-related blessings…

There’s my friend who always offers to bring me some chicken corn soup from Empress when I’m home sick with strep throat.

There’s my sister Sherry who gives me a key to her house and tells me to come out anytime there’s a tornado warning, so I won’t be in a house without a safe basement.

Honestly…I could go on…and on….and on. 

But, I can’t end today’s writing without naming the Hero of all heroes. 
The One who loves me so much that He gave His life for me. 
The One who cherishes me so much that He didn’t stay buried in a tomb. 
The One who is preparing a place for me in heaven and will welcome me home when my time here has ended. 

Yes, I love all the heroes I mentioned above, but my greatest devotion and sincerest praise goes to the Lord of lords, the King of kings, the Hero of all heroes. 

Jesus Christ. 

In case you don’t know….He loves you that much too.  Just sayin….