Today was a total gift day from God! You see, our school had the pleasure of hosting the illustrator, Robin Preiss Glasser. She has worked on many books, but what she is best known for is the Fancy Nancy series. I love Fancy Nancy. I think that she speaks to that five year old girl in me that loves to be fancy! Last fall, after I was hired at my school, I heard that they had "Fancy Nancy" day because the illustrator has visited the school the previous year. I was so bummed! I missed the opportunity to see one of my favorite illustrators in person and dress fancy! But because we have such an awesome and wonderful librarian at our school, Mrs. Glasser asked if she could come back! So we got to have Fancy Nancy day again! Perfect excuse for me to wear my ooo-lalala tutu and sparkley black dress! Oh and my red suede ballet slippers! So very fancy! I loved hearing Mrs. Glasser talk about how she gathers her inspiration for all of the pictures for the book. I learned so much about the world of publishing and how a book is created. It really is a very complex process. I also was very much in awe of her because she had two of the four careers I wanted as a child. Mrs. Glasser was a ballet dancer before she became an artist/illustrator. The little girl and me was "Wooow. I want to be you when I grow up!" (BTW, the other two were teacher and doctor.) I think I enjoyed it as much as the kids! Total gift number one from God today!
With Fancy Nancy in the house, you have to dress fancy, which included my class dressed fancy as well. I loved that one boy wore a tie and dress shirt.. You don't have to be a girl to be fancy...ANYONE can get spiffed up! I had lots of twirly skirts, sparkles and feather boas from the girls in class. One little sweetheart even had a tiara on! It some how made them all want to act fancy all day, including when we ate lunch in our classroom. We each lunch in the classroom everyday and so we always pick an imaginary place where we are eating. Today one of the boys wanted us to eat at a fancy restaurant that was "full of dark wood and candles." After we decided on that, he wanted us to have some fancy music to listen to, so he asked me, "Miss L? Do you have any fancy music? Like Frank Sinatra? Frank Sinatra is fancy." I cracked up! So very funny! How in the world did a six year old know that Frank Sinatra would be totally appropriate for our fancy lunch? Not to mention how he went on that he was a huge fan of Frank Sinatra. His parents, you get an A in parenting today! I told him that I didn't have any Frank Sinatra but I happened to have my favorite movie soundtrack, Return to Me, with Dean Martin on it. I said that Dean was a friend of Frank's, so it was the same kind of music. He approved and we listened to Dean and some classic jazz for lunch, and according to the aide, they loved it! Total gift number two today from God!
Finally, and this was such a little gift that went so deep within my soul. You see, I've been reading through Captivating by the Eldredges, on this journey to truly heal some soul wounds and believe the truth as the daughter of the King. In the book they talk about how when women are little, they just want to be told that they are beautiful and twirl the pretty dress they are wearing. This desire to feel pretty doesn't go away as she gets older. Instead, it can be channeled in a negative way, or repressed, Instead, they encourage women to embrace it and accept that as a woman, there is a need(and it is ok) to feel beautiful. As I was walking out with my class to the car line, I ran into a co-worker who gushed at how fancy I looked. She said, "Miss L, twirl around, let's see it." I played along and twirled around, and then I had to giggle. The little Amy inside of me was exploding from joy at this wonderful day, especially getting to pretend that for a minute as the happy, carefree little girl who twirls and delights in her fancy clothes. As I thought about that random, silly encounter, I really felt God tell me that is how He delights in me. I may not get to dress fancy all the time on the outside, but I can be that way on the inside. I can carry myself with confidence because He sees me as that daughter. The little daughter who can feel pretty and have joy. Psalm 139:14- "I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Tonight, I'm still twirling in the presence of God, smiling all the way. Total gift number three today from God!
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