The Humble Pie

Okay, our friends, did you know that today is Pi Day? March 14th is what we call Pi Day

because 3.14 is the number of the day when you look at it, it's the third month, the

14th of the day. And 3.14 is also the first three digits of a very special number, Pi.

You'll understand when you're older, but for right now, you can say 1, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9,

any, it doesn't matter at the point is you can say happy Pi Day to the grownups in your life

and they'll be very impressed. And to celebrate, we will read a book called The Humble Pi. This

story was written by Jory John and illustrated by Pete Oswald and you know how much we love them,

they're kind of our fives. So I'm very excited to share this story with you, grab your

copy, plop it down, and follow along here we go. Today's story is read by Mommy A. And

I know you are, but what am I? I know you are, but what am I?

It's okay, if you don't know what it is, it's a witty retort.

A witty retort. It is. Oh my goodness, how funny. Oh, I see. So your witty retort is,

I know you are, but what am I? Okay. Well, friends, you never know who it's going to be with Philip.

Apparently he is the master of witty retorts today, which makes sense because today's story

is about the very Humble Pi. Shall we get on with it? Indeed. I am a Pi, a Humble Pi.

And that's no lie. He says, and he looks at us and goes, ah, shucks.

I don't brag. I won't gloat. I never take credit. I go with the flow. I stay low, key, down low.

I never showy. No. Even when he wins first place in the Apple Bobbing contest, amazing.

I really don't mind if you claim all the glory. I will gladly lift you up so you can fly.

If you want the spotlight, I will happily stand in your shadow.

Sure, every once in a while, I yearn for a little recognition, but a sense that somebody has some

idea of what I've been up to, but mostly I'm okay with being overlooked. It's part of my dated

life. It's just how it goes. And in the Rising Crest Elementary photo, we can see the logs and

clairs and cakes and pies and custards and chrishand. Yep, all those things.

That's a churro. It's a churro. Meanwhile, my best friend is a cake named Jake.

We've known each other forever. He makes everything, and I mean everything. Look easy.

For instance, he always gets the best grades. He's absolutely amazing at sports.

And like we can see in the picture, even there, the cake is flying down the hill with his

skis on and he yells out, Peers of Cake. His social skills are top notch. Here he is at a birthday

party. Watch how he mingles. Note how he makes everybody feel comfortable. Look at how he lights

up at the room. And the cake really is. He's pulling out the chair for the old Peers of Cake.

And he's got his candles lit because he's a birthday cake, I guess. Oh, it looks great.

And here I am in the background. Mopping up the spills, taking out the trash, refreshing the

appetizers, wrangling the toddlers, making sure everything runs smoothly. It's who I am.

It's what I do. I'm used to it. In fact, nobody notices pie when there's cake nearby.

Unless you really like pie more than cake, right?

Yes, Jake is my best bud, and I am content to just stand next to him, lending my support so he can shine

because I am a pie. A humble pie. And that's no lie. Shucks, he says.

Something happened recently that changed the way I see myself. Listen to this. One

people afternoon, our science teacher, Mr. Breeman, announced that we would select our own lab

partners for a project and we would have to prepare a presentation and jack. And Jake and I

paired up, of course, I was pretty excited. What a dream team. They high five each other and they say,

yes. On Monday, we brainstormed. On Tuesday, we sketched out our plan. Jake got a little off track,

though. On Wednesday, Jake said that he'd be late, but then he never showed up. On Thursday,

it was just me again. On Friday, I started building our project by myself. It turned out that Jake

was busy with nearly every extracurricular activity in existence. He's taking a piano lesson.

He's playing basketball. He's skiing. He's taking a French class, playing soccer, and he joined

math club. Wow, Jake the cake is a very busy guy. Finally, the night before the project was due,

Jake called to say that he would be late. He had some half baked excuse. Oh, this really takes

the cake. I thought I'd had enough. I was beyond overwhelmed. There was no way I'd be able to

finish in time and suddenly I was sweating and my palms were clammy and I felt a little wobbly

and I realized that I needed to say something. Anything. I didn't exactly love the idea of

confronting my best friend, but it had to be done. And for once, I wasn't going to sugarcoat it.

When Jake finally arrived, I nervously cleared my throat and said in the peace. Look,

I know you've had a lot on your plate. I said, but I've been doing a ton of work on this project

and it's really stressing me out. I can't do it all on my own. At this rate, we're going to be

missed meet tomorrow. I need your help. Jake stirred me for a long time. Then he looked out the

window. He furrowed his cake brow. What if I made a huge mistake? What if Jake didn't want to be

my friend anymore? Maybe I should have just done the work and kept quiet as usual. Gulp.

He says in the picture, and oh, that's what those are big feelings to have. What do you think is

going to happen? Jake let out a deep breath and then he nodded. You're a hundred percent right.

He said, I'm really sorry. I'm glad you said something. I don't deserve any credit on this

assignment. I'm such a flake. I shook my head. You're not a flake, Jake. I said,

you've just been busy, and the good news is that they're so plenty for us to do as a team.

I know you'll rise to the occasion. You have layers of talents. Jake smiled. Ah, shucks. He said,

in that moment, I realized something important. For so long I had convinced myself that being humble

meant staying underappreciated and unseen and occasionally getting walked over, but there's nothing

wrong with having a tough conversation asking for help and making sure you're being treated

fairly. And Jake realized something too. True excellence in life is about more than grades or sports

and activities. It's about being there for your friends when they need you. The mood immediately

improved after that. And they give each other high fives and say, yes, we got to work. We ate snacks.

We listened to music. We stayed up most of the night. It was actually fun. We crossed things out

and switched things up and rehearsed our presentation and guess what? In the end,

everything came together. Yes, the dream team was back. The presentation was a rip-roaring success.

Mr. Barryman even complimented us on our teamwork. Bravo. He says,

it was the icing on the cake. We both got a chance to shine. And even the smart cookie says to him,

hey, great work of that was. My buddy deserves most of the credit. Jake said,

it says, our classmates were impressed too. I blushed from my crust to my toes,

ah, shucks. Though these days, I'm still a humble pie, but now I stick out for myself.

I take credit. And I have tricky conversations when necessary. And you know what?

It's incredibly gratifying. I'm proud of the pie I've become. It's possible to stay humble

while you're showing the world who you are and what you can do. You don't have to remain in a

shadows. Yes, I am ready to fly. And that's no lie. He says, as he flies off the cliff,

well, he's jumping with his skis. And he's got to helmet on so he'll be safe. But I think he's

amazing. And I think that it's very important that we understand that you can be humble and gentle

and soft and strong and kind and respectful, right? All those things can be true. You can be both

soft and strong at the same time, like this sweet pie with his soft gentle crust, but has super

strong flavors inside. And that, my dear friends, is the end, right? Anything else you want to add?

Hope you can join us for another strike tomorrow. There you go.