...fire...

I was giving instructions for the final exam.

Student:  Whoa!  What the heck?  Whoa!  (other exclamatory remarks that I don't know how to type as he flails and scoots back in his desk)  It looked like your hair was on fire!  But it was just the light.  Wow, that was so scary!

Once he recovered, I continued to tell students where to put their tests when they finished.

...wanna buy a duck?...

The funniest thing that ever happened to me in my entire life happened today.  I'm not even kidding.  THE FUNNIEST.

So I was working outside at the garage sale.  We put all the furniture and big items outside, offering to sell on the spot before shoppers even entered.  I spent 10 hours walking around, selling furniture, writing sold signs, and moving things around.  I'm a little red from our sunny day.

At one point in the afternoon, I was the only person working outside for a few minutes.  (This is the sad part of the story:  I was unable to experience this with anyone.)

A young guy, maybe around 24ish, carrying a dirty towel started walking up toward the gym.  I greeted him, as usual.  Then I noticed that he was being followed...by a duck.  So, without even thinking, I immediately said, You have a duck following you.


He responded:  Yeah, is that okay?


Me:  Oh, uhhh, yeah...as long as he doesn't go inside...


Duck Guy:  Oh, no.  He won't go inside.


After I tried to recover from this awkward situation, I let Duck Guy know that if he saw anything he wanted to let me know.  I told him he could pay for it right there & I would mark it for him before he went inside.  So, he told me he wanted a couch.  We walked over to the couches, and by we I mean me, Duck Guy, and the duck.  I'm not too convinced that he was really interested in a couch because he didn't even touch them, let a lone sit on one.  Oh well.

Eventually Duck Guy found a couple of things that interested him.  First he saw a vacuum cleaner.  He asked if it worked, and I told him he could take it inside and plug it in to double check.  As he considered this option, he said, Ok.  Can you watch my duck?


Me, still slightly in shock:  Yeah, sure.  Go ahead.


What?  Can I watch your duck?!?!?  I said yes, but really I was thinking:  What?  Watch a duck?  How do I watch a duck?  How do I know if a duck is misbehaving?  What do I do if it walks away?  I'm not picking it up!  I've never been so nervous to watch someone's duck before.  Wait, what?  Who has EVER watched a duck for someone else?

So, before going into the gym to check out the vacuum's sucking capability, he picked up the duck & said, I'll put him in the grass.


What?  You'll put him in the grass?  How is that helpful?  He is a duck!  How is putting a duck in the grass going to make my new duck-sitting gig any easier?  Well, then he threw that dirty towel on top of the duck.  He turned to me and said, He'll figure it out.  Sometimes it takes him awhile.


As I'm watching the duck struggle to find his way out from underneath the towel, Duck Guy finds a grass seed spreader that he wants.  He pays his $3, and I started to make a SOLD sign.

Me:  Okay, what's your name?


Duck Guy:  Philip.  With 1 "L."


As I write "Philip" on the paper, I say:  Okay, then I will put it over there while you go check out your vacuum inside.


A few seconds after he walked away, Duck Guy turns and says:  Don't forget about the duck!


So here I am, standing in the parking lot full of furniture, and I realize that I am duck-sitting.  None of my fellow volunteers are present to share this experience.  So, I'm left to my own thoughts about how to make sure Philip is pleased with my care of his pet (or best friend maybe?).  I continue talking with other customers about furniture.  A few minutes later Philip returns, happily holding a functioning vacuum cleaner.  He picked up the duck & brought him over to his other purchase.  At this point a young girl asks Philip if she can pet his duck.

Philip:  Yeah, he won't hurt you.  His name is Burt.


ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  THE DUCK'S NAME IS BURT?

At this point I had to walk away because I was dying!

Philip put the towel & Burt inside the grass seed spreader & started on his way.  However, since the towel was keeping it from spinning well, the towel & Burt were ousted.  So, just as before, Burt followed Philip to his car.  As they were walking, other customers stopped what they were doing to gawk at the pair passing in front of them.  One lady even verbalized what the rest of us were all thinking:  Wait a minute; I have to watch this happen...


When Philip reached his car, he opened the hatch, put his purchases inside, then placed Burt next to them.

Well, now I can officially say I duck-sat.

For those of you who don't believe that this really happened, I wish I had a picture.  I was just in too great of shock throughout the whole ordeal to even consider it.

Burt looked kind of like this...only not as clean.

...garage sale...

So my friend and I are orchestrating a major Missions Garage Sale to help raise money for short-term mission trips through Village Bible Church this summer.  We have been taking donations all week long (it kinda feels like 2 full weeks, but it's only been four days) for the major sale this weekend.

We have several great volunteers helping throughout the course of the week.  Some are working to help fund their own trips.  Others are just giving some time because they want to support missions, and/or they just like doing it.  We are thankful for all of these volunteers!

At this stage in the game we have departments throughout the gym and a large classroom.  Furniture and big items have exploded into the hallway, Sunday School classrooms, and the foyer so we can move them outside for the sale.  Some things have prices on them already, but we haven't gotten to everything yet.

Sometimes we have some young kids wandering, potentially helping, throughout the gym as their mom or aunt (or whoever) is working.

Tonight a little girl, probably about 7 years old came up to me as I was putting some books on a table.  She showed me a placemat with the presidents on it.  (Sweet find, right?)

Little Girl:  Do you know how much this is?

Me:  Yes.  It's 25 cents.

Little Girl:  Oh, okay...Wait!  How did you KNOW?

Me:  I have it in my head.

Her eyes grew three times their normal size.  Little Girl:  Do you mean that you have the price of EVERYTHING in this sale in your head?!?!?

Me:  Yes, I do.

She may have gone into shock.

A small section of the gym at the beginning stages...
You can see why she was so surprised, right?

...personal day...

Six years later, I finally took my first personal day.  I know--some of you are thinking I'm totally crazy.  But as a teacher, I usually find leaving my students more work than just sticking to the routine.  Plus I have to miss school on a regular basis for the sake of a leadership group I sponsor...I just never take days and simply stay home.  I mean, I've only taken 1 sick day in those 6 years too.

Well, apparently it's a big deal to students too if I miss a day.

This morning I was standing in the hallway, outside of my classroom as usual.  A student came up to me from behind, and he turned to look at my face.  I was a little weirded-out by this, gave him an odd look, & asked why he was looking at me like that.

Turns out there was a rumor that I was in a fight or something, and he expected to see a big bruise or scratch or something on my right cheek.  I was so stunned by how certain he was that he would see evidence of the brawl on my countenance, that I didn't even think to ask for details.

My guess is that the teacher across the hall is spreading rumors about me...yet again.

...celebrations...

At every PLC meeting, we try to start out with some celebrations.  I'm sure when our administration encouraged this practice they expected things like, My students did really well on the last test! or I didn't have to write any referrals for a month! or other really great achievements regarding our students.  However, our PLC tends to celebrate a little differently.  Sometimes we celebrate discovering funny You Tube videos or learning new words in another language, that sort of thing.

Well, last week I felt the need to share some celebrations with my PLC via email.  Here it is:

I have two things to celebrate:

1st:  Over the past few weeks, I'll be honest, I've been disappointed with our dress code compliance.  I know it's the end of the year, but it's been ridiculous.  So, I just wanted to point out that today we do indeed have 100% compliance.  Great job guys!
2nd:  Post-assembly, Ben challenged me to a race back to my classroom.  I won.  That's right.  I won.  This is a fairly large accomplishment for me considering my complete lack of athleticism.  I will take your congratulations via email, in the form or high fives, or with chocolate.


Thanks!


In response I received:
1.  A digital high-five.
2.  A digital chocolate rose (chocolate & flowers in one).
3.  A ridiculous accusation by Ben that I punched him and threw garbage cans in his way.
4.  A fun-size chocolate bar thrown at me during class, which of course I did not catch.
5.  Congratulations from my students after I explained why a teacher just threw chocolate at me.
6.  Several fun-size candy bars in my mailbox.
7.  A confession from Ben that I won fair and square--no garbage cans involved.

I was pretty satisfied.

By the way, for you new-comers, Thursdays are Kaleidoscope Days...So it's basically impossible for us NOT to have 100% compliance.  Even so, it is good to recognize Positive Behavior.  (Right PBIS fans?)

...mail time...

So one day I checked my mailbox at school.  Among the normal teacher recommendation forms and memos, I found three unexpected papers.  I am not sure who put them there or what message he/she is trying to send.  Nevertheless, I found them amusing.  I decided to put them up for public viewing outside my classroom.  So far several people have claimed to be the individual who placed them in my box.

...weight-lifting mix-up...

Student 1:  Miss O'Brien?

Student 2:  Wait, who is this O'Brien you speak of?

Student 1:  What?  Huh?  That's your name, right?


He stood up, walked across the room, opened the door, and checked the name plate outside my door.

Student 1:  Yeah!  I was right!  You are Miss O'Brien.  Wait, who is the weight-lifting teacher?

Student 2:  Uhhh...Ms. Esmond.

Student 1:  Wait, I think I've been calling her Miss O'Brien all year!

Me:  That's weird.  Tons of students call me Ms. Esmond...we have the same first name...