F-R-I-E-N-D-S

I know I don't mention it a lot but I work with some the best people! It is these people that make going to work worthwhile. We laugh together, plan together, cry together, basically roam the halls of school together. If someone is trying to find one of us, you will find the rest of us too. I consider these girls to be some of my best friends. They know so much about me, if not more, than anyone else because I see them everyday. We hang out together outside of work, let our kids play together, and celebrate holidays and birthdays together. I don't think I would enjoy my job as much if I wasn't lucky enough to work with such great people.

My 3rd grade team at school is the best! We are each other's shoulders to fall on and only they know the joy and tears of teaching and dealing with kids and parents on a daily basis. They understand the dealings of daycare and working around husbands hours.

Often you can find us laughing at anything. WE are always laughing (usually). WE have so much fun sharing stories about our kids (because we keep having them and they are close in age), sharing stories about our husbands, our families, financial issues, selling houses, and much, much more. I really am glad I have these ladies to fall back on.

There are lots of times where we like to play "jokes" on each other just because we find it funny even though others won't. For example, this is my snowman, (which the girls hate) but it's from my most favorite store (Menards's, sense the sarcasm) and I put it out in the hallways every winter. Well, this winter, I was late to pack him up. I think it was well into March before I decided to pack him up. Well, before I did, we decided to do this.......

Our friend Andrea (who can still fit into her high school pants)was out so we placed Mr. Snowman at her desk. If you look closely, he is wearing her glasses, holding her scissors and TV remote as well as a football. Now you are probably thinking "ok, so what? Grow up this isn't funny!" But you see to us it is hilarious and that's why I love these girls. So just to make it funnier to us, we posed for this picture just to remember how funny it was.

So you get the picture? Not everyone is blessed to work with such funny, crazy people like I am. If I have to work, I am glad it's with these gals.
Holly is "the mean girl." She knows I am kidding when I say that but she says it like it is. She says things that we want to say and think about saying but she actually says the words. Out loud. She is wonderful and always there for me by the flick of a lightswitch. She drives us to lunch on Fridays and always keeps us informed of current events. She has 2 little girls and Gracie just adores her daughter Jackie. They are only 2 months apart.

Andrea (who is not pictured above) is pregnant with her 3rd baby. She and I have a great connection because she also has a set of twins who will soon be 6! We have shared a gazillion twin stories. I have worked with her since my 2nd year teaching. She knows that it's ok if her refrigerator is running when she gets a call from me and is always excited to clean out the closet that we share at school. She also has the most amazing lunches that I am jealous of as I sit and eat my yucky Lean Cuisines.

Becky is the girl who is always laughing. You can hear her laugh from any corner of the school. I'm glad I'm friends with her because she prays for me and I need all the help I can get. She helps me out when I need help dealing with boy parts since she has 2 little boys already. She always tells me secrets too when I am blue.

Patti is my other hip at school. You can always find the two of us together because I have worked with her for 9 of my 10 years of teaching. She knows what I am thinking without me even having to say it and helps me out tremendously! She knows the importance of being part of the safety patrol and knows the importance of snacks. She is also one of the bravest people I know since she was "in a fire." And I can always make her smile when I say "But she talks about me too."

So there you have it, and these are just some of the many people that I work with. I could go on and on with the many, many, many stories about these ladies but that could take days and tomorrow I get to hang out with these ladies for the afternoon and night as we wish our send our boss off on a life of leisure as he retires.

My boss, Dr. Carlson, has been great over the years. I felt like I could go to him with anything and he helps out. He has taught us many things over the years but if there's one thing I am going to remember about him, it's that he makes us say "WE are Wesmere." "WE" is the abbreviation for our school so it fits. Saying that makes me think WE are lucky to have worked with such a great person. WE are lucky that he hired us. And WE really are a family. And WE will always be.