Pink

"Don't kick that lady!" A little girl of perhaps six, issued the warning to a toddler in the shopping cart ahead of us in the checkout lane at Target.

"Oh no! Please don't kick me!" I said to the cute little girl.

She smiled and babbled a reply.

"Is your favorite color yellow?" I asked her, noting the pale yellow t-shirt and flowered leggings she was wearing.

Her big sister took charge. "No! It's light pink."

I nodded. "What about you? What's your favorite color?"

"Dark pink," she answered firmly.

"Like this?" I pointed to a package of gum.

"Yes," she told me seriously.

"What about this?" I pointed to a slightly paler package.

"That's hers." She jerked her thumb over her shoulder.

"Thank goodness you don't both like the same color," I told her. "That could be confusing!"

*That* Kind of a Day

A colleague stepped into the room about 10 minutes into my 3rd period class. "Do you remember a student named *insert alias here*?" she asked.

I stopped my lesson. "I think so," I answered with a squint of uncertainty.

"Well, I have a story to tell you at lunch!" she said and left the room.

"He was probably arrested!" one of the students called out.

I shrugged. "Why do you say that?" I asked him. "Maybe he just graduated with highest honors from Harvard."

"Did you see her face?" he asked me. "It's not good news."

"Well, I think he won the lottery, and he's going to give every teacher who remembers him a million dollars!" I said and continued on with my instruction.

Later at lunch, my friend told me what happened. "His mother called the office and asked if we keep permission forms from field trips. When they asked her why, she told them that in 2004 I took her son on a field trip to Mars, and she really needed to see that slip!"

"Why?" I asked. "Did you leave him there?"

No Spoilers

“Have you seen The Avengers yet?” a student asked us on the walk into school today.

“No!” I cried and stuffed my fingers in my ears. “Lalalalalalalala! No spoilers!”

“Oh, I would never do that!” he said. “But...”

“Lalalalalalala!” I answered.

“Okay, okay,” he laughed. “Wow! You. Are. Serious!”

New No More

We laid the new rug on Wednesday; Friday, Popcorn, our geriatric canine guest, peed on it. We quickly cleaned the spot and were relieved to see that it didn't go through to the back of the rug. Yesterday, our dog walker texted that Lucy had barfed, where else? On the new rug. This morning, we were puzzled to find our puppy outside the babygate-- somehow she had broken out during the night. And later we were greeted with three piles of gooey poop, also on the new rug of course. The salt and peppery gray shag that really doesn't show much of anything has cleaned up better than we ever could have expected, and it didn't cost a fortune, but still? I added a few tears to the mix as I mopped up the mess.

Ain't No Spring Thing

50 degrees yesterday and 88 today?

Oh, Spring! Do not forsake us.

Nows and Thens

On a day that started with the assistant principal giving a ten minute lecture to the sixth graders which consisted entirely of don'ts and or elses, the parent of a student stopped by our team meeting. He was there to sign some paperwork, but also to discuss some concerns the teachers have about his son's behavior. We spent some time problem solving and putting a few supportive strategies in place.

Even though I do not have the boy in my class, I was glad to meet his dad, because I remember when he was a student at our school. Twenty years ago he was in the most restrictive program for kids who had trouble controlling their behavior.

"You were here then?" he asked, squinting.

"Yep!" I answered cheerfully.

"The school has changed so much since then," he said.

"We have a lot new windows and classrooms," I agreed.

"Nah," he said, "I mean, everyone is so helpful now. They want my son to succeed. Back then it was all punishment, punishment, punishment." He shook his head.

We were silent for a moment.

"I guess we've all grown since then," I told him. "At least I hope so."

Recovery Period

After sleeping in a little longer than usual, I had to down a cup of strong coffee and slip on my shades before I stepped out into the brisk April morning with the dog today. Oh, it wasn't alcohol that gave me this hangover: it was just a week of getting everything ready for a houseful of guests and then three days of celebration.

Whew! I am looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow. Middle School will be a nice break!