Then there's That

I've written before about the young woman I used to be mentor to when she was in sixth grade. I stay in touch with her mostly through social media, and it amuses me sometimes that at 22 her brain is still as quirky as it was half her life ago.

Today she posted a photo of a dead squirrel lying bloodied on the pavement. I cringed when I saw it, wondering what possessed her to share such a gruesome image. I noticed that another of her friends had the same reaction.

"Why????" the friend commented.

"Hit by a car," my former student replied.

Benediction

I'm not a hugger, but I hugged my cousin tight tonight before we put her on a train for Florida, and I wiped more than a few tears as we walked back to our car, too.

When my brother and sister and I were children we said our prayers together every night. After the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, and Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, we would end by saying, God bless Mommy and Daddy, Tracey, Billy, and Courtney, Grandma and Granddaddy, Aunt Harriett and Uncle Jim, Jimmy and Bobby, Aunt Sis and Uncle Tom, Sandy and Mike, Elaine and Mike, Kelly and Tom, and all my aunts and uncles, cousins and friends. 

Many of the people on that list are gone, and we've been blessed by many more to add, but even today, saying those names has an elemental effect on me-- like repeating a nursery rhyme or a song that I have known all my life. It even soothes me when I wake in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep, because those folks are my original family.

Godspeed, Elaine.

Post History

The history teacher on my team retired at the end of March. A mid-year departure is unusual and can be disruptive, but we and the kids have almost reestablished what seems like a regular routine without our Ms. C. Even so, her name came up in my class today.

"Oh, Ms. C.," I sighed dramatically to indicate how much I missed her still.

"Yeah," one smart aleck kid replied, "you can tell us how you really feel."

I put on a hurt face. "No," I said, "I do miss her. In fact, Ms. C. just texted me the other day--"

"Wait!" another student interrupted. "Ms. C. Knows how to text????"

Conspiracy

There comes a halcyon time in every school year when it seems that everyone, students and teachers alike, is at their best-- firing on all cylinders, on a streak, in the groove, click click clicking along, whatever, but that time is not this.

Close to June all sorts of fatigue set in. All those monthly Monday holidays and week-long breaks are things of the past, and high stakes testing is where it's at. Everyone's a short timer, and If you're a kid, it seems like once your "big" test is over, it's hard to believe that there could possibly be anything important left to do, and yet there we are for a month or more, day after day, with valuable lessons and assignments, all of which are expected to be completed. Really.

While presenting a particular challenge to teachers, such circumstances also seem to take a toll on the morale and judgment of some sixth graders. Why just today in our voluntary after-school study hall, the teacher in charge uncovered a conspiracy. Several students tried to distract her with requests for help so that another kid could steal an extra snack.

Their integrity for a bag of cheese crackers seemed like a good trade. 28 days to go.

Heard in Sixth Grade

First student: I always thought avalanche was a vegetable... something related to an avocado, maybe?

Second student: Avocado? Ewwwww!

Ooh! Ooh! I Know This One

Tonight in the grocery store I was approached by a woman of perhaps my age or a little bit older. We were in the international food section and she held a bottle of soy sauce in her hand. "Excuse me," she said with a slight accent, "do you know what kelp is?"

Those who know me know that I love questions I know the answer to. "It's seaweed!" I told her as if I were a contestant on a game show. 

She seemed to interpret my enthusiasm as expertise, and she handed me the bottle, pointing to the tiny print that listed the ingredients. "I'm vegetarian," she explained. "Is there any fish or pig skin in there?"

The pig skin threw me off a bit, but I was game to answer the second round questions. Unfortunately, when I looked down, I  found I couldn't read the bottle. No matter. "Can I borrow your glasses?" I asked, pointing to the reading specs on her nose.

We laughed, and then she handed them to me, because she wanted to know, and I took them, because I wanted to tell her.

Confused Face

Twice today I heard a student react to mildly negative news in the following way, "Awww, sad face."

The exchanges went like this:

Me: Andrew move your seat.

Andrew: Awww, sad face.

And later,

Me: we'll probably show that movie next year.

Student: I won't be here next year. Awww, sad face.

What is up with that?