I got all giddy this morning because it was the last class meeting before final exams. I am just so excited to NOT BE NEW next year. Things will be easier, for sure.

I shared my excitement with my stalwart mentor, Jen, who has been supportive and awesome since the day she was assigned to me last August.

"We HAVE to have a big old celebration to mark the end of this year," I told her. Something to celebrate the weekly meetings we had, the periodic freakouts she was privy to, the many formal and informal observations, the comment writing, and the portfolio creation and editing. I was thinking happy hour or a dinner out.

"Totally," she said.

And then she just scheduled a small party for me in her own backyard. A PARTY! FOR ME! AT HER HOUSE!

I think we can all agree that this goes above and beyond on the mentor duty scale.