DAY 121

I took three days off to go to Lynden, WA to visit my kids and some friends. I ended up taking another day off because my plane was delayed coming from Chicago to Detroit and I didn’t get to bed until 3 a.m. and I have either a bad cold or a bad allergic reaction to all the “Spring” in Lynden.

Today I was back in the classroom, in first grade at the Montessori School. One of my ears still hasn’t popped clear so I had a hard time hearing what some of them said. On the other hand, their out-of-control noisiness may have been easier to handle because of that. 🙂 I really did not feel well all day, but I soldiered on. A lot of the kids were way too chatty and felt way too free to move around the room at will, and I ended up getting quite fed up with a few of them. I was very eager for 4 p.m. to arrive.

Usually I will corral everyone and use up the extra ten minutes of time here and there with a song or a book, but I just felt sick and impatient today, so they didn’t get the best Ms. Sharon; neither did I get the best “them.”

I did enjoy listening to some of the other teachers complain and explain during lunch break – often those sessions are quite informative. There’s a girl in this class I had today – funny, I said her name at least 25 times today and now it’s escaping me – anyway, she is the only girl in the school who wears a way too small, very dirty polo shirt to school regularly. I’m not sure why. Today after I asked about it (I’d be willing to buy her a shirt myself!) the staff said there was a story behind it (it’s not poverty). Later in the day some staff members decided to give her a shirt and if the parents complain, they devised what they will say. I suggested that they have her put it on – not just take it home, and the staff member agreed. The girl came back from the restroom wearing the new shirt, with a big grin on her face and declared, “It’s the new ME!”  I hope so.