Mindful that once I left this afternoon I wouldn't be back until the first morning of school, I was tidying up my classroom and going through a few things that were on the bookshelf by my desk. A small wooden box from Guatemala caught my eye. I couldn't remember who had given it to me or when, and it seemed like the kind of item I could part with.
I picked it up, perhaps to thank it for its service, perhaps to toss it, and gave it a shake. It was empty, but still I flipped the colorful lid open on its little leather hinges. There inside was a folded piece of bright pink paper. It was entirely possible that I had put it in there myself maybe a few or maybe many years ago, so I pried it from the rough interior and unfolded it.
Eldana was here! was scrawled in pencil on what turned out to be a post-it note.
Eldana! She was a kid with a big personality who I spent a lot of time with last year. Turns out, the note hadn't been in there too long at all: who knows when that rascal waited until my attention was turned to pinch a post-it and stow it away for another day like a message in a bottle? The find was bittersweet, though, because Eldana is going to another school for 7th grade, and it's not too likely that I will see her again.
On the other hand? That kid is full of surprises, so again, who knows? Oh, and I decided to keep the box.
I picked it up, perhaps to thank it for its service, perhaps to toss it, and gave it a shake. It was empty, but still I flipped the colorful lid open on its little leather hinges. There inside was a folded piece of bright pink paper. It was entirely possible that I had put it in there myself maybe a few or maybe many years ago, so I pried it from the rough interior and unfolded it.
Eldana was here! was scrawled in pencil on what turned out to be a post-it note.
Eldana! She was a kid with a big personality who I spent a lot of time with last year. Turns out, the note hadn't been in there too long at all: who knows when that rascal waited until my attention was turned to pinch a post-it and stow it away for another day like a message in a bottle? The find was bittersweet, though, because Eldana is going to another school for 7th grade, and it's not too likely that I will see her again.
On the other hand? That kid is full of surprises, so again, who knows? Oh, and I decided to keep the box.
No comments:
Post a Comment