Another day is dawning ... I can smile at the old days

In my mailbox were four items, of which one was a membership renewal notice.  The other three were greetings from recently graduated students.

The office manager noticed me picking up my mail.  "Looks like you are popular with students" she said.

"How awesome to come back after the break and find these cards" I replied.

If this is how a new term begins, then I am confident that I am doing the right things.  

I returned to my office and brewed myself a cup of coffee.  I opened the envelopes as if it were at the Oscar ceremony, fully knowing that the Oscar was for me and nobody else ;)

Lengthy handwritten notes in the inside of both cards, and true to their personalities--one was filled with humor, and the other was a measured tone from the beginning to the end.  The third had a printout inside.  How wonderful to read those sincere sentences of appreciation and thanks.  

The funny one included a lottery ticket as well:

The postscript from the student read:

Here is the ticket that may grant you the $1,000 that you keep asking students.  It is yours to keep

Of course, I have no plans to scratch the card to see if have won the $1,000--the card is, after all, way more valuable than a measly thousand bucks.

Over the winter break in the old country, during one of the conversations with my father, I told him how lucky we both are.  "You have stories of the buildings you helped design and construct.  From factories to dams to schools" I told him.  Including the school that provided some of the most cherished moments of my life.  "A value-adding tangible contribution to society" I added.  

In my case, it is about students, of course.  There are so many wonderful stories that I will carry to my end; after all, when dying, only our memories will accompany us.

And thus I begin yet another term to create more memories.