Best Present Ever

Not recognizing the number, I didn't answer my phone Thursday morning. Listening to the message left by the caller, I was filled with curiosity. A lady had left a cordial message saying that she was trying to get in touch with my husband, Phillip. He had been her child's special ed teacher many years ago, and she said she'd appreciate a return call from him. Since Phillip and I worked at the same school for 24 years, I recognized the name of the former student but was perplexed about the purpose of the call. After all, the boy had been one of our students around 20 years ago.

Because we only had a half day of school due to the holiday break, I was happy to go out to lunch with Phillip. I told him about the phone message, and his furrowed brow and tilted head showed me that he was as surprised to hear from this lady as I was. After lunch, I went Christmas shopping while Phillip went back home. When I pulled into our garage a couple of hours later, Phillip met me at the car with tears in his eyes. However, these were tears of gratitude and joy, not sadness. He said that the mother had called to express her appreciation to Phillip for the spark he'd ignited in her son as a young child. Her child had "graduated" from special ed fairly quickly and had gone on to get a master's degree from a respected North Carolina university. Her son is also a fine poet and writer and is thriving today. The mother said that she gave Phillip and God the credit for turning this child on to learning and for giving him the confidence to believe in himself.

Two lessons were brought home to me through this occurrence. First, every single one of us has a need to make a positive difference in this world, and we all need affirmation that we've done that. Second, I know that many times I get the urge to say or do something nice for someone, simply out of love, but most times I don't follow through. Taking the time to carry out these nudges or inclinations is what matters, not just thinking the thoughts. Phillip and I are so impressed and thankful that this kind woman took the time during this busy season to get my number from a mutual friend, to call me out of the blue, and to express these meaningful messages to my husband. Phillip ended their conversation by telling her that this was one of the very best Christmas presents he could possibly receive.

Merry Christmas, Friends, and my we all be more kind and intentional in SHOWING that kindness during 2017!

Run That By Me One More Time???

Okay, Brooke Maner, this story's for you! And I may need to apologize in advance for the off-color content of what I'm about to relate. However, it's true, it was a random, hilarious happening that brightened up a ho-hum day, and it's just too good to keep to myself! As I walked out of my office with a cow-licked, freckle-faced second grader by my side, I overheard Ms. Maner, one of our first grade teachers, talking to Siri. I wasn't trying to overhear, but since I had to walk right past her, I couldn't avoid it, and I'm glad I couldn't! I feel sure my second grade companion would feel the same. Here's what we heard Ms. Maner say to Siri (and in a serious tone of voice, no less). "Remind me to pick my nose at 3 AM." Taken aback, my little friend and I widened our eyes and looked at each other as if our ears were deceiving us. Nope, she said it again, and of course we froze in our tracks to listen. Since we were standing so close and Ms. Maner was holding the phone in front of her face while speaking to Siri, we could overhear. "I'm sorry, Misty, I didn't get that." With a sigh of frustration, Ms. Maner said it again, this time more slowly. "Remind me to pick my nose at 3 AM." Once again, Siri responded that she didn't understand. Now at this point, I had figured out that Brooke was speaking into Misty Fetzer's phone. Misty is Brooke's teaching teammate, and the two are famous for playing good-natured tricks on each other. So Brooke explained to my friend and me that she wanted Siri to wake Misty up at 3:00 and remind her to pick her nose. As the second grader and I cracked up, rolled our eyes, and shook our heads, we said good-bye and left Brooke to her endeavor. Before you go thinking that these two teachers are wacko, let me say that they both create an atmosphere of fun and camaraderie for their students, which leads to their children's enjoyment of school, along with the secure feeling that they're part of a family. This warmth also helps their students be able to put all they have into learning. Although I've seen and heard many unusual sights and sounds in my 30 years traveling Farragut Primary's hallways, this instance has to be one of the most memorable, and I'm glad I happened to walk by at just the right moment to be a witness to it!

Punny Story

Strike one, strike two, strike three, you're out!  Just like in baseball, my kindergarten students know that if anyone breaks three rules during our 45 minute guidance class, that person will have to leave our group on the carpet and go back to his or her seat.  At the beginning of each class, we briefly read the rules, and I remind the children about 1, 2, 3, out.  As I reviewed this practice with a class on Monday, I used a few Spanish words with which they're familiar:  "That's uno, that's dos, that's tres..."  And since that's about the extent of my Spanish, I asked the teacher, Mrs. Smith (who speaks both English and Spanish), how to say "seat".  "Silla", she answered, which as you may know is pronounced "see ya".  Realizing that we had ourselves a pun in the making, I giggled and said to the students, "Okay, if you break three rules, I'll say, 'That's uno, that's dos, that's tres.  SEE YA, go back to your silla!' "   Oh the joy of silly moments that punctuate a day!