The Best Part of the Day

Clare Bear, Bella and Liffey play Queen of the Mountain during an attempt to get pics for the website. I really need to set up my photo studio! Susan and Robert said they would help for my birthday tomorrow (as long as no nannies needed help birthing).

On the ranch, we had more rain. Well, it rained all over the Hill Country, not just on our ranch. No tractor work for me. Bummer. On the brighter side of things, Dad took a shower! It's difficult to get him to stay up that long anymore. He just wants us to get him up and change his shirt. But this shower today is guaranteed to make Mom happy for two days.

Penny and the First Graders

August 2005

For a week and a half, my life has been a teacher's nightmare.

No, really.

You know--waking up in night sweats and all, only it's real life, and the blood pressure medicine just isn't working.

It's right up there with missing one or more article of clothing on the first day or being at the wrong school or having high school students when you were expecting kindergartners or being at the California Anderson while Spencer is in Texas and somehow we didn't get married (okay, maybe I'm the only one who has that nightmare).

All teachers have these nightmares. We just don't have to have them in real life. Usually. The day before school started, my principal called me into her office to tell me that since she had overbooked 4th grade teachers by placing the math coach in 4th grade at the end of the year, one of us had to go, and that one was me--the last non-bilingual 4th grade teacher hired by our school district. (I was excommunicated from the bilingual faculty last year when our district did away with ESL services, but that's another story.) I still have a hard time NOT taking this personally. For three days I was no longer a "teacher of record" but merely an "extra unit"on our campus as our administrators begged central office to keep me at our school. First grade was crowded, so we all prayed for more first graders.

On Friday, at 11:30, I became a first grade teacher in anticipation of a class. My absolute angel of a husband, Spencer, came to school for the second Saturday in a row to set up my computers, this time in my new room first grade room. He also lowered 16 desks from 4th grade height to first grade height since the district moving crew thought that was easier (for them). The letters went home to parents about their first graders switching classes on Monday.

The first concerned phone call came at 3:42 on Monday afternoon. By Tuesday morning, there were two refusals and lots of tears. It doesn't take long for six year olds to fall in love with their teachers.

Naturally, I called in the heavy artillery in the form of six week old Penny. After lunch, we visited the 3 very crowded first grade classes from which my students had been chosen. Miss L's class was first. They sat in a wobbly elliptical shape that first grade teachers refer to as a "circle" and asked questions about my cats as Penny was passed gingerly from person to person. Penny was a perfect angel. When she was handed back to me, though, she promptly chomped on my cheek. Hard.

We went on to Mrs. G's more structured setting to show Penny to the students sitting quietly in their seats. A few students got to come up and pet Penny, but since I could not navigate through the maze of desks, computers, pond and supplies, it was mostly my own kids who had already been shuffled off to the side.

Then Penny and I entered Disneyland, otherwise known as Ms. G's class. Most parent complaints had come from my very good friend's class. For five years, I tried to get her to decorate my fourth grade classroom to no avail. Currently it's a Curious George/Beach Party theme in there. Palm trees at every table, beach chairs, a tub full of pillows. I just knew that the new Cosmic Blue paint on my bookshelves was nothing compared to Ms. G's classroom.

Penny did the trick, though. Ms. G has one of my "special" Bengals at home--Anakin who is blind in one eye due to a vet (not mine) pealing his cornea off while he was under the care of another breeder. Carla loves our Bengals and knows what awesome cats they are. Her class asked questions, and then one by one came up to gently stroke Penny on the head with one finger.

Penny and I returned to my new room. I went to work setting things up while she romped around in typical Bengal kitten fashion...Halloweening at nothing, scampering, stalking and pouncing on a paperclip...

My principal (new last year--we're still getting to know her, but do know she's pretty rigid in many ways) came to talk to me. My heart rate increased."It's not about you as a teacher," she blurted out, "but there have been parent phone calls about the students crying, and..." Penny darted out from under a cabinet to pounce on her shoes and sniff her feet. Mrs. P jumped back and screamed. I guess someone might think Penny were a rat by her color and ferret-like movements.

"It's okay," I reassured her. "Penny and I took care of it. We visited all the first graders, and they ALL want to be in my class now."

Mrs. P left my room and went straight to Ms. G's room.

"Have your kids met the kitten?" she asked.

"Yes."

Mrs. P called the kids out one by one to ask them if they were excited about moving to my class. "Oh, yes!" was the unanimous response.

"Well," she said, "tell your parents."

The first thing my mom taught me about teaching is that it is easier to get forgiveness than permission. I never asked to be able to bring Penny to school, but she has been there since the teacher's first day back. Penny LOVES school. She gets oodles of attention. She bounces around the room and scurries up the hallways. She falls asleep curled on my left shoulder and cupped in my left hand as I try to go about my business. She is in heaven.

Penny came to school again today to be with my new first grade class. I set up a portable kennel for her, and after the kids and I had our meeting about how to treat her, she came out for that travel around the jumbly elliptical circle thing. Throughout the day, students who finished their work got to come play with Penny. Oh, they worked so well today!

At the end of the day, we sat in our "circle" again as I brought Penny around to each child for a goodbye. My babies were so sweet as they each kissed Penny good-bye on the cheek. They knew that today was a very special day, and that they would not see Penny for a very long time.

I'm not sure who will miss it most.