As a teacher, sometimes there are Things That Happen at School that can kinda set the tone for the entire day. Today was definitely one of those days. It was actually a day where a couple things happened that made it feel more like a Monday instead of a Tuesday--because Mondays are usually the days when things just don't go right. That can't be true just for teachers, right?
Anyhoots, here's how my day began...with a little help from Baby Yoda to say it in pictures.
I was with my first class of the day in the computer lab, since I teach Technology on Tuesdays. My 2nd graders had gotten to work and I was walking around the room as I usually do, to make sure kids are on task and being close by in case they need help. I'd passed one particular student, we'll call him Charles, and he was working. But as I passed again about five minutes later and stopped to check on him, I noticed something come out of his mouth. At first glance, I thought it was simply spit. What can I say? It's elementary school. Spit happens. But as I turned to look more closely, it was not spit. No, it was a puddle...of vomit.
After I recovered from the initial puke-induced panic, my next thought was...
You know, because puke is gross. And because I'm a germaphobe and I don't want to get that stomach bug and it just smells and I really need to get this kid to the office STAT! But I pulled up my big girl panties and shifted into teacher mode, and got Charles to the office. Then I poured some weird stuff on the puke puddle--stuff we use at school to absorb the liquid (and the smell, thank gawd!), and the custodian/superhero maintenance guy came and cleaned it all up. And then the class got back to normal. I do have to say though, I was quite impressed with my 2nd graders. They didn't get freaked out at all. They just carried on with their Coding activities like nothing had ever happened. Go figure.
Fast forward to just after my lunch. I'd gone into the staff bathroom to brush my teeth. You know, so that I'm not that teacher who has stinky breath in the afternoon. [I have not-so-fond memories of teachers from high school who were oh-so-close talkers with stinky breath!] So, I took care of my oral hygiene as usual. I'll need to preface the rest of this by saying that there is no counter in that bathroom. There's a sink, a toilet, and a cabinet above the toilet. The cabinet is where I keep my toothbrush--in a plastic case that is inside a little makeup bag. So, as I'm going to put my toothbrush back in the plastic case...can you guess what happened? If you guessed that I dropped my toothbrush into the toilet, you would be correct.
Now, I think I've expressed already that I'm sort of a huge germaphobe. So, next to puke puddles, a toothbrush in the toilet is pretty much like my worst nightmare. I did *not* want to touch it.
Unfortunately, I'm not Baby Yoda, so using The Force was not an option. So I grabbed the toothbrush as quickly as possible, threw it away, and then washed my hands 23 times and headed back to the lab to finish out my day.
Things happen at school. It's a given. There's really no escaping it. But I'm heading into Wednesday with a Baby Yoda state of mind.
Show me whatcha got!
