Day 60

It brightened my day when:

J: the lady sitting next to me at the game said, "welcome to Italy" in broken English
K: J brought me a delish cup of tea
P: J and his friend took me with them to see the USA vs. Italy game
J: my friends were laughing and talking with me during our craft class
H: mommy came to play soccer with me outside

Day 59

It brightened my day when:

J: the lady at the bank had my credit card ready for me
K: Kate volunteered to drive J to her class
P: K really helped me organize my room
J: the lady at my class told me I was a very good first time sewing machine user
H: my brother let me do wii fitness first

Day 58

It brightened my day when:

J: Dave called to suggest we take our oldest sons to the US/Italy soccer match in Genoa
K: the kids were enthusiastically encouraging me during my wii exercise course
P: my sister made me a tuna fish sandwich for lunch
J: a friend took me to a craft making session with her
H: the man let us into the basketball courts so we could play roller hockey

Day 57

It brightened my day when:

J: I realized someone had put a little space heater in the cold chapel for us this afternoon.
K: J made a fantastic lunch for the family and J made dessert and I just got to sit back and enjoy it all
P: J's colleague was making every one laugh as he was playing Wii
J:everybody loved my desert
H: I got to the next level in a Wii game

Day 56

It brightened my day when:

J: the gas station attendant accepted my apology pleasantly (she turned off my pump because I was talking on my cell phone-who knew?)
K: Jackie told me to call him "Jackie" not Monsieur
P: H was excited to have me teach him chess
J: my cousin skyped and I got to talk to her
H: P told me that I could turn backwards on my roller blades really good

Day 55

It brightened my day when:

J: I got an extra friendly "bonjour" from my kid's teacher
K: H asked to play a game of "Chutes and Ladders" with me during lunch and laughed during the entire game
P: my friends asked me to go celebrate the last day before vacation at "Subway" with them
J: my sport teacher told me I did well in my handball game today
H: P asked me to play roller blade hockey with him

Day 54

It brightened my day when:

 J: the big frightening looking man at the ice rink flashed H and I a huge grin as he held the door open for us
K: I was given a beautiful drawing after school from H
P:I heard everyone giving J a big applause
J: when the kids in my music class all gave me a thumbs up after I sang my song
H: I beat mommy in the obstacle course

Day 53

It brightened my day when:

 J: a lady we met this afternoon paid me a very nice complement about my teaching
K: a friend rang the doorbell to thank me personally just for a very cheap bottle of water I left by his motorcycle
P: a friend loaned me some money because he saw I didn't have any for a snack at the Cafette
J: one of daddy's students said hi to me
H: P got to play hockey with me for fun

Day 52

It brightened my day when:

J: one of my student's ran up to pick up all the pieces of chalk that fell on the ground after I accidently knocked them all off the board
K: Kate made an unexpected visit to my house just to say "hi" (haven't seen her in a long while)
P: a friend offered me a lollipop
J: L told me she was happy we were friends again
H: Adrien told me my baseball was "trop cool"

Day 51

It brightened my day when:

J: a colleague noticed I had my hands full so she held the door open and waited for me to go through
K: my neighbor brought over a bag of grapefruits from her own grapefruit tree!
P: H really wanted to be my partner during our hockey pair drills
J: my teacher told our class that J was going to play in a musical trio while wearing a dress for the lycee theater performance....and the whole class started laughing at the thought of it
H:  my tummy hurt so mommy let me stay home from school

Day 50

It brightened my day when:

J: the man at the cafe brought me an extra fork (relatively cheerfully) even though it was clear he didn't want to.
K: the whole family decided to go with me to Monaco (and I didn't have to drive there myself).
P: my sister let me borrow her scooter even though she really didn't want to.
J: I played hide and seek from my brothers with J.
H: I showed mommy my outfit she said, "oh awesome, great outfit".

Day 49

It brightened my day when:

J: the lady at the bakery was particularly sing-songy when saying the usual bonne journee
K: H was asked to go out on the ice in front of an entire audience and loved doing it
P: a friend came over to me to say hello during the hockey game and completely surprised me
J: J got me french fries at the game
H: William came up to me during the game and gave me a thumbs up for being out on the ice

Day 48

It brightened my day when:

J: P was singing cheerfully as he got ready for school this morning at 6:45
K: the man in the truck flashed his lights at me to indicate I could pass first on our narrow road-we were late and this was such a brightened my day kinda moment!
P: a girl in my class wished me good luck on my book report
J: I was able to block three goals in handball and win the game for my team-they were very thankful
H: one of my friend's gave me a big high five

Day 47

It brightened my day when:

J: the people at the Petit Cafe showed me where they hung the Obama flag I brought to them after the 08 elections
K: H got so excited to see that there was still so much snow on the "roofeses" of the houses
P: the surveillante in the cantine was extra nice to me even though I brought my lunch from home
J: the teacher handed me a copy of our new book to read "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
H: Coach O passed me my full hockey uniform to wear for the first time

Day 46

It brightened my day when:

J: the lady at the Olive Mill told me she remembered me, was waiting for me and was ready with our olive oil AND said she was looking forward to seeing me again next year
K: M had such a good lesson and felt good about her progress
P: a friend volunteered to go get our books that we had left in another classroom
J: M was happy to receive my Valentine's day cupcake
H: P said I was so good at hockey stopping that when you grow up you can be the best hockey player in the world

Day 45

It brightened my day when:

J: K made a call to the Olive Mill (in French) for me so I didn't have to do it (this was a first)
K: J came home for lunch and did the dishes for me
P: a friend asked to sit with me in class
J: my teacher gave me a good grade on my physics test
H: Aillaume told me I was strong

Day 44

It brightened my day when:

J: the man at the cafe offered me a half of a croissant with my coffee-just because
K: Baptiste brought me a piece of his birthday cake because I was helping out in the library next to his classroom
P: my friends and I shook each others hands after having played a game of badminton at sport
J: mommy asked me to make calzones for supper
H: daddy told me I got to play a hockey game during the period break of a real hockey game

Day 43

It brightened my day when:

J: a colleague sent an email thanking me for something I didn't even know I had done
K: out of the blue, H presented me with a handmade decorative card with my name on it
P: J and K helped me with my homework
J: H came into my room to play with me (while I was doing my homework-it was a nice break)
H: I got to play basketball on Wii with P

Day 42

It brightened my day when:

J: I saw how excited J was when I dropped her off at her friend's house
K: we received a skype call from B/T/L/G/W and they gave us a skype tour of their town and house!
P: H was so excited to be playing basketball with me
J: our neighbor brought over a bag of grapefruits from her tree-I love grapefruits
H: I did a joke and P got a big laugh

Day 41

It brightened my day when:

J: I got to talk a little golf with my bosses young son who plays weekly
K: H's teacher asked me to come help during their afternoon of "games"
P: I got to sit next to my dad during the highschool play
J: a girl sitting next to me on the bus told me "you have a really nice voice"
H: K came to my class to help play "games"

Day 40

It brightened my day when:

J: one of the quiet kids in class raised his hands and made a great comment
K: H presented me with a drawing he had made for me at school that was crumpled up in his pocket all day
P: I was told that my music group sang our piece well ("Oh Happy Day") today during music class
J: somebody said something funny out loud in class
H: another kid from hockey gave me a high-five

Day 39

It brightened my day when:

J: the grumpy lady at the prefecture was smiling by the end of our appointment
K: J offered to go to the courthouse in place of me!
P: a friend offered me some chips at the cafette
J: I heard someone saying that J was a great teacher
H: P told me that when I grow up I will be the best basketball player ever

Day 38

It brightened my day when:

J: I called K's cellphone and heard that J was the recorded message--and it was pretty funny
K: Jenny brought over a bouquet of tulips
P: the physics teacher started laughing in class
J: the whole class had a funny moment in physics class
H: mommy let me play on the wii

Day 37

It brightened my day when:

J: I heard H's teammate telling his dad about a hockey story I told him last week
K: H came over to the couch and got under the blanket with me as soon as he got home from his practice
P: H and I worked really well tonight as teammates during our practice drills
J: mommy waited for me to take the doggies back home
H: Adrien told me I was a fast runner

Day 36

It brightened my day when:

J: J decided to bake more of her Superbowl sugar cookies to finish off my Superbowl "haystack" supper
K: J and H suggested we take the dogs for a walk in the snow--and we did--and had a wonderful time
P: J asked me if I wanted to wake up to watch the Superbowl with him
J: I was able to walk the dogs
H: the doggies fell asleep on my lap

Day 35

It brightened my day when:

J: Rob and Armelle offered me a cup of tea
K: my dad forwarded us a clip about a 100 year old woman on the Jay Leno show that had the greatest personality and spirit--the whole family loved it
P: H helped me clean and organize our room
J: daddy went to the store to get me some butter so I could bake my sugar cookies
H: P said that on every shot I took in basketball I was very good

Day 34

It brightened my day when:

J: one of my students came up to me after class to let me know she got into the summer program she applied for at Georgetown University
K: when a friend called me to let me talk to H after school when she noticed he was nervous I wasn't there
P: J and H helped me clean out the mouse cage
J: everyone started laughing in history class when somebody responded with a funny answer
H: my friend told me I was a fast runner at recess

Day 33

It brightened my day when:

J: a couple of my french students asked me to update them on the US politics
K: Pat brought over an empty bird's nest from her plant to show my kids just because she thought they may enjoy it
P: a friend offered me some of his french fries
J: daddy said we weren't going to our 8 o'clock class
H: daddy stopped and got me Mcdonalds

Day 32

It brightened my day when:

J: P and J told me how cool it was when accidently slid the car down the icy road today
K: J enthusiastically jumped out of the car to take care of the fallen snow on the windshield while I got to stay in the warm and toasty car!
P: H told me how much fun it was sledding with me today
J: those boys were trying to hit me with snowballs and missed each time
H: mommy took a walk with me and the doggies in the snow