Every new day is a once in a lifetime event. How much more exciting would our lives be if we embraced this truth and lived accordingly?-Steve Maraboli

Tuesday, February 19th was an ordinary day.  School, cook dinner, answer emails and play my new game obsession Candy Crush.  (I can NOT get beyond level 30!) I had checked my email obsessively the last 3 weeks waiting to hear some news, and another day looked as if it would pass without hearing anything.

The email notification on my phone reluctantly pulled me away from attempting to crush those candies.  The subject line was: ADE Class of 2013-United States.  Holy cow…here it was.  The long awaited email.  I was home alone when I opened it and saw the first line: Congratulations and welcome to the Apple Distinguished Educator (ADE) Program.  I stopped reading and started yelling.  My poor dog was certain I had lost my mind.  This application had been turned in since November and the waiting was excruciating.

So what does all this mean? ” Apple Distinguished Educators (ADEs) are part of a global community of education leaders recognized for doing amazing things with Apple technology in and out of the classroom. They explore new ideas, seek new paths, and embrace new opportunities. That includes working with each other — and with Apple — to bring the freshest, most innovative ideas to students everywhere.”-Apple

I’m thrilled beyond words to be a part of this community and can’t wait to learn from the best of the best.  The honor is incredible, but more importantly, the ability to work with some of the most amazing educators in the world is priceless.

Wednesday, February 20 was back to reality.  Still wearing my huge smile and excitement from the night before, it was apparent my children didn’t know the awesomeness of this distinction. They had no idea anything was different from the day before.  Because it wasn’t.  I’m still me.  I’m excited at the new role I will be wearing as an ADE and the possibilities of what new things I can bring into my classroom, but we are back to business.

My kids ask me each day “What will we learn today?”  My answer is always “Today, we will do exciting new things.  Let’s get to it!”

Thanks to all of you for all of the blog and Twitter love!  We have exciting new things to do…let’s get to it!

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