G is for Gap Year

In yet another example of "things they missed because school was not in person for a year" the sixth graders showed somewhat appalling behavior at the preview of the school play today. Even though we reminded them of the expectation of respectful audience behavior, it seems that our definition of respectful is rather divergent from theirs. 

To be fair, for the most part they were expressing their appreciation for the writing, acting, and singing, of their fellow students, but the way in which they did it, cheering and whistling and chanting the name of certain actors, was totally unexpected and actually disrupted the production. Plus, once they got started with such loud and long reactions, their behavior became even more interactive, like they were yelling at the TV or computer screen at home. 

It is true that occasions public collective viewing have declined sharply during the pandemic years, and these kids could be forgiven for not knowing the social expectations for such events. We adults, too, might also be forgiven for not anticipating the scope of necessary pre-attendance instructions; we assumed they knew how to act, and we were wrong. 

The experience is emblematic of what it's been like to teach this year: there are so many gaps and holes that we are not aware of until someone falls in.

Life Lesson: Expect the unexpected.

A is for At Leisure

After working at my desk until nearly 5, I was eager to get home, lace up my sneakers and take a walk. My preference is always to walk somewhere for something, and this evening it was a quick trip to the grocery store. Heidi was still changing and getting her clothes ready for tomorrow when I sang out a cheerful see you later and headed out the door. 

I stuffed my list in my side pocket and my AirPods into my ears and climbed the steps out of our complex and over the hill to the grocery just a little under a mile away. There I quickly gathered the items on my list, scanned, bagged, paid, and exited the store on my return trip. It was only waiting at the light to cross King Street that I realized I did not have my house keys, so I texted Heidi and hoped for the best. 

But the door was locked when I got home;  Heidi was running, her watch and phone too busy tracking her activity to receive my texts. Our neighbors with the spare key were not home either, so I took a seat on the milk box and began to type this entry on my phone. A couple of paragraphs in I was startled by our neighbor rounding the corner to climb the stoop. 

She was startled too. "I did not expect to see you there!" she laughed. "I was just coming over to borrow some printer paper." 

When I explained my predicament, she went to fetch the key. Opening the front door at last, I found Tibby and Milo waiting, more wide eyed than usual. "Why didn't you come in?" I could imagine them asking me. 

"I was locked out!" I told them, and then went to fetch some paper.

Life Lesson: Make the best of any situation.

I is for It Comes Around

Back when we were self-centered children, I can remember my brother or sister or me asking a rather bratty question: "We have Mothers Day and Fathers Day," I'm sure we noted, "so how come there's no Kids Day?"

"Every day is kids day," my parents answered, one or both, and we begrudgingly left it at that.

I thought about those days this morning when one of my homeroom students made a similar inquiry. "We principal appreciation week and counselor appreciation week and teacher appreciation week," she sighed. "So when's student appreciation week?"

I resisted the urge to answer her just as my parents had answered us, but I did shrug and say, "Everything we do here at school is for you and your education. If we didn't appreciate you, I guess we wouldn't be here."

To which she scoffed, clearly unconvinced.

Life Lesson: When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years." ~Mark Twain.

R is for Renewable Resources

After working in my garden last weekend, I came home and soaked the last of the beans I grew last season. Then I made a soup with them, adding the final jar of last summer's tomatoes and the end of the sweet paprika I made from the peppers that grew next to the tomatoes and beans. 

As I washed up the empty jars and put them away to use again, I had no regrets about finishing off those treasured ingredients, knowing that the next harvest is only a few months away.

Life Lesson: Be both the ant and the grasshopper.

C is for Cause for Celebration

After a month poetry, we returned to slice of life this weekend until we transition to the May alphabiography challenge, and it was with interest that I caught up this morning with the 25 or so kids who are still in it to win it. We have a three day weekend to mark Eid-al fitr, the holiday at the end of Ramadan, and as much as I love any excuse to extend the weekend, it was genuinely cool to read the excitement that several kids had when writing about the upcoming celebration. 

Eid Mubarak!

Life Lesson: Celebrate celebration!

As We Go

It was slow going in my garden this afternoon. Treat and I were using the lumber I bought yesterday to build some raised beds. We dug holes for the corner posts and then used my battery-powered drill to drive screws through the side rails and attach them. The angle was very challenging to get the screws started, and it was frustrating to try and make the bed true and even. 

When it was done, I looked at where we had placed and sighed. "I changed my mind," I told Treat, I think I want this one over there and the other one here. 

He took the news with good nature. 

"Maybe we can just pick this up and move it?" I suggested, and we did.

Well that changed everything! We assembled the next bed one end at a time, and then stood it on its side to add the long pieces. Then we dug trenches and carried it to the location we had prepared. It was way quicker and a lot easier. 

"I guess it's all a learning curve," I said to Treat.

"Definitely," he agreed. "I'm going to remember this for the next time I build beds."

In the Spirit

This was spirit week at school and for the first time in 29 years I participated every single day. School colors Monday was easy; I just wore one of the many shirts I've been given over the years. Tuesday was wear bright colors and sunglasses, so tie-dye was my choice of wardrobe then. Crazy sock day on Wednesday seemed a bit of a waste, but I dutifully wore a wild patterned pair beneath my jeans. Thursday was pajama day, and today was college wear.

Years ago I used to wish I could wear my pjs to school, but our principal was adamantly opposed to such a spirit day. When she retired, pajama day was instituted, but until this week? I never actually had participated. For some reason it just seemed a bit wrong, but yesterday I put my doubts aside and wore some buffalo plaid flannel sleep pants and a long sleeved T, along with my slippers. 

Dressing that way was okay, but it was a little weird to come home and change out of my pajamas and into something more comfortable.