What an exciting time of year! Some of us have already had our first day and for other of us that day is fast approaching. What I can definitely say is that I always love it when the PD days are over, and my kids are coming back. I've met the incoming freshmen class at Fish Camp, new displays are up, shelves are straightened and we are ready to welcome our students. 29 years in and it is still just as exciting to me as it ever was, y'all. I'm sharing 5 things I do to keep me joyful as we start our new year. The before school morning rush finds me greeting my people. We generally host somewhere around 150 kids before school starts each morning. Coffee in hand, I am going around the library checking in on all my kids. Greeting them, saying good morning, making sure they have what they need for the day. Email can wait, my to-do list can wait, everything waits because this is my time to make sure every kid in my space is noticed, acknowledged, and spok...