Moments of the Week

Moments of the Week:

A 4th grade student was in my office and we were getting ready to do an assessment.  But before we dove into the fun world of cognitive testing, we talked birthdays:

Boy with Low Expectations: "It was my birthday last week!"

Me: "What?  You're birthday was last week!?  That's awesome."

Boy with Low Expectations:  "Yeah it is.  And I got exactly what I wanted too."

Me: "And what was that?"

Boy with Low Expectations: "A cucumber."

Me:  thinking I heard him wrong "Huh?  A cucumber?"

Boy with Low Expectations: "Not just any cucumber.  One of those fancy ones!"

Me:  saying the only thing that came to mind, "An English cucumber?"

Boy with Low Expectations: "YES!  An entire English Cucumber."

And then guess who was visibly disappointed with my prize box options at the end of our testing?!  He didn't seem to think I was funny when I told him I was sorry because "I'm all out of produce."

The Best + Worst Day Full of Moments

Two Things:

1) I love Halloween.  I mean, I really love it.  Halloween parties are just bursting with creativity, imagination and humor.  There is just something about a holiday that allows a child to embrace a new persona while their mom embraces her inner slut.

2) I have 4 irrational fears in this world:

1 - insects with exoskeletons

2 - clowns

3 - people pretending to be zombies
4 - bees

Well, this Halloween I unfortunately experienced 3 of my "Big 4"…it was not an ideal day in terms of anxiety levels.

These spiders were placed everywhere around the school.  I can't even begin to guess how many times I reached for something and shrieked.  Funny at first…but then it just got mentally exhausting!

Situation #1: 
I'm sitting in a teacher meeting when the teacher sitting next to me blurts out "Cockroach!"  I gasp and jump away from the table as she walks over to the corner and literally starts stomping on the carpet.  I am making some low-toned moaning sound and plugging my ears as I try to picture some happy place.  A couple moments pass and I look up and realize that a table full of teachers are looking at their new school psychologist as if she is completely wacked.  

I was hoping to keep it a secret for at least a few more months…:)

Situation #2: 
Working in an elementary school over Halloween is usually a ton of fun.  Although lately this has changed for me.  And it's all due to this new zombie craze!  I have to psych myself up mentally to leave my office to go to classrooms because inevitably I will pass 1 or 2 mini zombies walking down the hallway.  And the worst part?  They are walking like zombies.  I mean, these kids really dedicate themselves to the role.

Today I ran into 2 zombies and 1 clown within 2 minutes.  Worst 2 minutes ever.

Situation #3: 

Speaking of clowns, imagine enjoying your salad in your staff lunch room when Bozo the clown sits down next to you.  I had no idea who "Bozo" was underneath all that make-up, but I immediately stopped eating and my palms started to sweat.  For all intent and purposes, lunchtime was over.

Moment of Appreciation

Life may not always be ideal, but it's little moments like this one that make me pause and tell God thank you.

Speaking of appreciation, thank you for reading!

xo - Marion