Johnny Appleseed's birthday is tomorrow. His real name is John Chapman. He'll be 238 years old.
Holy Moly. That's old.
His birthday is also one of my favorite days out of the entire year. I look forward to it almost as much as I do Dr. Seuss' birthday. Almost.
I love how Johnny appleseed's birthday is in the fall. It makes me completely embrace the fall season and happily wave goodbye to summer.
It makes me renew my love for fall weather and warm applesauce. I love the red, orange, and yellow leaves that crunch when you step on them. I love the weather (it's raining right now!). I love milk chocolate hot cocoa with whipped cream and candles that smell like pumpkin rolls. I love jacket weather busting out my collection of scarves. I love boots and cute long socks that poke out the top of your boots.
But. I love fall the most because my Grandma gets to come make a presentation in my classroom. If you didn't already know, my grandma is a master cook. And she knows everything there is about apples. She knows every. single. kind. of. apple. She knows when during the season which apple is best picked and bought at. And most of all? She can makes anything that you can put apples in. But her dried apples are the best. Hands down.
She owns a massive dehydrator and an apple peeler that cores and slices the apples like that! (insert snapping fingers here). After the apples are sliced, she quickly puts them through a sugar and cinnamon mixture, lays them out on the dehydrator trays, and lets the apples dehydrate to their hearts content. I remember many days as a child stuffing myself to my hearts content with dried apples. In fact, my dad and I had a day just like that last week. We may have eaten half of a tray together.
Once you start, you just can't stop.
But back to the main reason of this post. My grandma comes in and does a fantastic presentation on apples on Johnny Appleseed's birthday. This year, due to some of my grandfather's health issues, she came a couple of days early (which, let's be honest, a classroom full of 25 7-year-olds really don't mind a party a little early). She brought in apples, her apple poster, a song/poem about Johnny Appleseed, and her apple peeler gadget.
My mom also heads up making all of the other apple goodies besides the dried apples. She make apple muffins, apple cookies, apple crisp, applesauce, and apple juice. Have I told you that my mom is amazing? Because she is. While my grandma does her presentation, I get to sit in the back of my classroom with my mom and tell her the hilarious things that 2nd graders come up with. But that's a topic for a whole 'nuther day.
My grandma is a natural with kids. I could sit and listen to her stories all day long and be a happy camper.
She provides all of the apples for my students.
And all of them get to see their apple cored and peeled right in front of their eyes.
Apples have always tasted better in the form of an apple spiral. My students agreed.
These women are quite remarkable. They have taught me much of what I know about hard work, dedication, service, and love. They shine as women of faith and women of character. I honestly could tell you good things about them all day long. The too of them have gone through a lot and done a lot in their lives and they still go throughout the days happy and smiling.
I'm truly grateful for them in my life. I'm so glad that my students get to meet them and see them regularly in my classroom (why yes, they do grade certain assignments for me and cut out lamination and bag up goodies I use for math lessons. I'm such a spoiled teacher.) My students hear me talk about these women weekly if not daily. They hear my grandma do her Tarzan yell, sing the ABC's backwards, and speak like Donald Duck.
Because some of them don't have a grandma like I do. And I want them to know that Grandma's are special and amazing and are meant to love and cherish children.
So here's to two women who I admire and respect.
The women I'm proud to call my mom and my grandma.
The women who my students call Carol and "Grandma."
I love you.
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