Walking the Cats

When the rain cleared at about 11 this morning, we opened the windows and doors to let the late April breeze air out the house. One of our cats, Tibby, was already in the kitty stroller that I got for my birthday. Both she and Milo love to hang out in it, and so most of the time it sits in the dining room like a cat hideout on wheels.

"We should take them for a stroll!" Heidi suggested, and I knew she was right.

So I shook off the last of the gray morning and headed out into the spring sunshine to walk not just the dog, but the cats, too.

Preventative Measures

I was disappointed when I tried to get advance tickets to the last Avengers movie. Three weeks out, there were already no decent seats in any theaters at a good time for the entire opening weekend. After a little consideration, I resigned myself to seeing it the following weekend.

Well, I thought I had made peace with the situation until the press machine shifted into high gear earlier this week. After reading and hearing all about the movie, I began to regret having to wait. In desperation, I searched again for tickets, and this time miraculously hit on an empty theater at an ideal time. Feeling like I won the lottery, I snagged the third row center seats for a Saturday afternoon screening and instantly began counting the days.

For the first summer blockbuster of the year, showtimes began Thursday evening ahead of the formal Friday opening, and some of my students were there. Once the movie screened, the closely-guarded plot twists were available to anyone who wished to spoil the story, and so going to school on Friday was a perilous experience. More than once I stuffed my fingers in my ears and loudly chanted la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la. I also threatened dire consequences to any blabbermouth who might ruin the movie, and when at last we left the building at 4:30 yesterday, I was confident that my experience would be pristine.

And it was! Although some of the plot points were predictable, I never knew what was going to happen. I spent the full three hours enjoying the experience, which is fortunate, because it would have been impossible to go back to school until I'd seen the movie for myself.

Beggars and Choosers

"Can I have some candy?" a student demanded after school today.

I never comply with such impolite requests, but today with my head pounding courtesy of the Anime Club, I was even more short than usual. "No!" I snapped and returned to my work.

"Why not?" she whined.

I looked up over my glasses at her and took a deep breath. "Because it's rude to ask people for things. You should wait until I offer."

"You never offer!" she scoffed.

"You never offer anything, either," I told her.

"What can I offer?" she asked with some irritation.

"Look around," I shrugged. "Think of ways you could be helpful."

To her credit, she considered my words, and in very short time, the room was more tidy than it had been. The chairs were pushed in, stray papers and books were returned to their designated places. "How do you like it?" she asked, flourishing her arm.

"I like it!" I answered. "Would you care for a piece of candy?"

"Yes!" she replied, and then cut her eyes at me. "But, can I have two?"

"Nope," I answered.

Just then, the bell rang, but the Anime Club members lingered loudly, despite my hearty wishes of Have a good weekend! and See you later!

The student took matters into her own hands. "Anime Club!" she shouted. "Leave! Leave! Leave!"

"Gah! You don't have to be so harsh!" they grumbled as they filed out the door.

"Thank you!" I nodded at the candy kid in appreciation.  "And for that?" I continued, "You can have 2 pieces of candy!"

Oversight

No one was more surprised than I was when I walked into my classroom yesterday morning to find a total stranger peeling off my word a day calendar page. "Uhhhhhh," I stuttered. "Do I have a sub today?"

The woman looked at me brightly, but without comprehension. She continued updating my calendar. My desk was kind of a mess. I was confused. Gradually, the situation became clear to me: I had a doctors appointment which I rescheduled, but I forgot to cancel the sub. "I'm so sorry," I started when I realized my mistake.

"Don't be," the woman said before I could finish. And then she introduced herself to me as a parent of former students. She professed an abiding love for our school and all who worked there. She did not let me explain the situation.

"Um, I'll be right back," I said and headed to the office. The secretary in charge of substitutes was very understanding.

"Send her to me," she said, "and I'll put her to work."

Back in my room, students were starting to arrive. Again, I tried to apologize and explain. The substitute nodded, and continued wandering around the room, offering complimentary comments about the furnishings. The announcements came on; she sat down at a table.

The phone rang; it was the secretary. "Did you send her to the office?" she asked.

"I tried," I said quietly, "but she's not leaving."

"I'll be right there to give her the schedule," she assured me.

A minute later, she entered my room, spoke quietly to the substitute, and led her away.

I sighed in relief, and promised myself to never make that mistake again.

The Tao of Construction

I See the Positive in Every Situation

Ommmmmm

There was so much vibration right outside my window this afternoon that I felt like I was in a massaging chair. If it hadn't been for the loud whine of the steam shovel as it deposited scoop after giant scoop of gravel directly below my classroom, it might even have been a bit relaxing.

Ommmmmm

Thoroughly Modern

"I forgot to bring water!" I told Heidi as we were leaving school this afternoon on our way to the gym.

"Me, too," she answered. "And it's so expensive to buy it there."

Just then we passed the vending machine in the lobby, a fixture which is largely invisible to me even though I walk past it several times a day. I noticed a touch pad by the dollar slot, double clicked my Apple watch, and tapped it up there. In seconds I had an ice cold bottle of water.

"No way!" Heidi said. "Get me one, too!"

And then, delighted with our use of such nifty technology, we took our water and went to the gym.

Semi-Annual

I had a dentist appointment today. It was uneventful: my teeth were scaled, flossed, polished, and flourided, and my tongue and gums were examined for any suspicious activity. All was well in my mouth, and soon enough I was on my way into a lovely spring afternoon to walk back to school.

But as I rambled my thoughts did, too, and I considered the dentist's last words to me-- Enjoy the rest of the spring and have a wonderful summer! See you in the fall!-- and just like that, the soft air turned a bit chill, and I imagined the burgeoning leaves on the trees spreading wide like open hands and changing from spring green to red, yellow, and orange.

I shook it off, though. October is a long way away.