Bad day, good year

I had a conference with my son's teacher yesterday, and she started with the fairly dreadful phrase, "What do you want first, the good news or the bad news?" Before I could panic much, she explained that the "good news" was that my son had had a great year, and the "bad news" was that he was having a difficult day. Alright, maybe a difficult week. Not the best month, either. But it's the end of the year, with a lot of disruptions and general overstimulation, and she was a lot happier about the great year than the bad ending. Me, too.

We agreed that my son has made a lot of progress this year, both behaviorally and academically; and we also agreed that we were each doing a wonderful job with him. All that mutual admiration is a good thing, because we're all due to be together again next year. It's the first time since preschool that my guy's had the same teacher two years in a row, and once again it's a cheerful and unflappable woman who works well with him and seems generally unfazed by his, shall we say, behavioral challenges. It's a relief to know that he'll be in good hands next year, that I won't have to go in and explain him to a stranger, that he won't have to get to know a new person with new expectations. They'll both be up to speed, first thing. Having the same teacher two years in a row is something I've been wanting for him since he started elementary school, and now we'll see whether it really makes a difference.