On Wednesday, we had an early release day for students. Our administrators had planned an Ed Camp style afternoon of professional development for our school. Many of use signed up to teach workshops of our choice and then we all got to attend any workshops we wanted. It was a reenergizing afternoon! My friend Dawn also wrote about it yesterday. You can read more here.
At 4:00, after all the sessions were over, we all met back in the cafeteria. There were notecards and pens on all the tables so that we could write letters of gratitude to the presenters and participants. One of our assistant principals also distributed a scratch off lotto ticket to anyone who had presented, which was most of the staff!
As we worked on our thank you cards, my friend Erin dumped a few coins from her bag on the table. We all got to work scratching our tickets. Then we got to work, trying to figure out if we had won. I was the big winner at our table. I celebrated my $1.00 prize.
Then, as we left the cafeteria for the day, I offered the winning ticket to our principal, Beth. “Would you cash this?” I asked.
She looked at me puzzled, so I explained. “I never end up cashing them,” I told her. “I used to give my winners to my Grandma. She was a big fan of scratch tickets.”
She looked at me knowingly and then confessed that she isn’t great about cashing tickets either.
Just then, another friend walked by. “Lindsay!” Beth exclaimed. “Would you cash a winning lotto ticket?”
Lindsay’s face lit up. “Yes!” she replied. “I’ll give it to Poppy. He’ll be so happy.”
I wrapped my arms around Lindsay. Last year, Lindsay lost her Grandma. We have shared many stories about our Italian grandparents. Now, Lindsay often shares pictures of her Poppy on Instagram and I always comment, letting her know how happy it makes me that she loves her grandfather so much. I know that love. I’m glad my winning ticket found just the right owner.
Where There Is Joy 
It didn’t take much to make someone else happy. The Ed Camp sounds like a win too.
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I really hope my school will try an Ed Camp style PD at some point. I love that you found just the right recipient for that winning ticket. It’s so nice to think about the little burst of joy that will give him!
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We’ll crafted. Starts so big and funnels right down to that tiny, but important and touching, moment between you and Lindsay!
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Exactly what Dawn said! Start big and funnel down to the key interaction! I love that as a strategy for writing a slice.
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You certainly did win – and win big! In fact, everyone did.
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What a giving heart you have, and what a fun way to celebrate presenters and teachers. Many schools could learn something from this form of PD and the power of moments of celebration.
The grandfather who gets the ticket will be happy, but I’m wondering if his happiness holds great memories of winning tickets and brings back those joyful times of what to do with the money. It makes me think of that fun challenge of spending one dollar to discover that so many times, we can have more fun and spend better quality time when we have a dollar to spend than when we have twenty or thirty. Somehow in that dollar, I see the days long gone, when a dollar would buy a Coke and a cookie that would be eaten on a park bench watching dogs play and people amble about, families picnicking……the power of that dollar in the grandfather’s hands is far more powerful than the dollar my generation holds.
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This is great. I love that the smile got passed to where it needed to go. I also think Kim is right in her comment, that dollar holds more meaning in Poppy’s hand…or in Lindsey handing it to Poppy. There it’s both a thoughtful gesture and a connection to the past.
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I love that you were able to find someone who would appreciate it. I bet it made her poppy smile. Congrats on your win 🙂
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Aww…this gives me heart-bumps!
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Wonderful Slice in both form and content. Big to little, your Slice and the $1 for Poppy. Beautiful.
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What a great ending to a heartwarming story. I loved the build up of tensions of those who didn’t want to cash the ticket!
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You have such a vibrant learning community. Sounds like some great energy for a long March and a sweet ending to a day of collaborating .
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