JOY

There are lots of different types of joy.

One of my kids experienced joy last week when he overcame all barriers and successfully made Jubilee bunting in Maths. Elation exuded from him when he finally worked the protractor. He described it as “sickage”. I experienced joy because it was level five maths in disguise!

I experienced great joy when we survived our recent residential and managed to return each child to their parents with all their limbs intact and my sanity was left undamaged. 

Of course there’s also sarcastic joy. But today you’re lucky, I’m not about to pour out my emotions on the joy of writing thirty reports this week. 

Every teacher experiences complete and utter joy in a wave of relief and exuberance at this time of year, when half term has finally arrived and we’re about to enter the final straight before the summer holiday. 

But there is also proper joy. The sort of joy that you get in hymns about angels and stuff. The ‘hark the herald angels sing’ type of joy. Delight, mirth and rejoicing – that sort of joy. The ‘hope you’ve got a strong stomach because this has the potential to be a cheese fest’ sort of joy.

At school, we’ve had a very hectic term and we’ve got an impending visit from The Big O, so as a distraction technique, one evening when I was feeling rattled, I decided to make a list of the proper joy in my life. Turns out, I’ve recently experienced and will be experiencing some truly joyous times. Here’s the list:

1) My best buddy is getting married in August to a lovely, lovely man.  This is defo going to be tres joyous, but the best bit is that she has asked me – ME – to do the Bible reading at the wedding. Waaahhh! I nearly shed a tear in the staffroom when she asked me. It was emotional! I am so lucky that when I moved to the West Country I landed in a school with so many lovely people who have become fab friends, particularly my partner teacher, who is amazeballs. I’m going to read that reading better than anything I’ve ever read ever in my life. Ever. (It’s going to be even better than when I narrated the Nativity in Year 4 with Jaimie Hodgkinson, and that was seriously good.)

2) Times are a changing at the cricket club.  Our good friends Mike and Jen have given birth (well, Jen did) to not one, but two bundles of joy, Ellie and Wilf, and they are SO tiny and SO cute and smell delightfully of baby.  I had cuddles last weekend and experienced actual awe and wonder. No doubt the cricket club will become their second home so lots more cuddle opps to come!

3) Yesterday, Alison, one of my housemates from Nottingham, was joined in holy matrimony to John, her childhood sweetheart. They were married in the most beautiful and picturesque church in a gorgeous little village nestled in the rolling hills of the Peak District. Lush! Joy at its best. Loved it.

4) Maxing out on bunting and cake in a right royal knees up for the Jubilee doesn’t quite match the elation brought with new life or the delight of a friend’s nuptials, but our Jubilee tea party is going to be pretty friggin joyous too. Even the grey and drizzle of the weather won’t dampen the jubilation of raising a glass of bubbly to her Maj! Bring on the pomp and circumstance!

So basically there’s lots of joy to revel in right now. And revel in it I will!