Thank You?

So, I have had tests all week it seems, and I noticed something today after geog. that I have never noticed before: when you hand in a test, both the recipient and giver say thank you.

Now I know that some of the loyal few are students, and if you think about it, don't you realize that you say thank you when you finally hand in those pages covered in blood, sweat and tears?

The more I thought about this, the more confused I felt. Why the heck would I say thank you for torture? POW's don't say thank you to their captors... Jailbirds don't say thank you to the policeman who dragged him in. It's almost like I'm enjoying this...

And then I kept thinking... Why in the world would the teacher say thank you? I'm giving him work to do! Does an employee thank his boss for bringing in a mountainous stack of paperwork to file?

Then it dawned on me.

I was saying thank you for the opportunity to learn. I was thanking him for his time spent preparing the lectures. I was thanking him for the time he would spend grading 43 test papers, one of them being mine. I was thanking him for being open to answering questions so that I could take this test, pass the course and eventually graduate and build a life for myself. I was thanking him for his part in preparing me for my future.

And as for his thank you, he was thanking me for working hard. He was thanking me for trying to pass his class and at least look like I learned something and kinda enjoyed it.

yup, so there's my random thought for the day.