Still I was surprised that I received the gift card, not just because this was the first time that they have handed out gift cards as this sort of award, but because I hadn't thought about the fact that I hadn't missed a day of school so far this year. I don't think of it as being such an accomplishment; after all, one of our teachers hasn't missed a day in her entire career. However, this has been the first time that I have even been eligible for this kind of award since my first year of teaching at Lincoln (where I only missed one day for the entire year).
Starting my second year of teaching at Lincoln, I have been teaching at Baker College either on Saturdays or in the evenings. This has been my first semester since then that I have not, and that fact seems to have had an impact on my health. I had suspected that such was the case, but I now have a quantifiable number to use to prove the point.