It's never dull!

Last night the whole family went to Macy's to get some fancy britches for Stan. We're walking around the men's department upstairs and they have tons of mannequins that are only from the waist down, showcasing their collection of slacks.

We were shopping and Caden was running and playing, but then Stan & I got distracted. Caden had been quiet for a minute (& that's never good) and when we looked up, he was standing on the little platform gripping the mannequin tightly just below the waist.

I said, "Caden, get off of that."

And he said - or yelled - "NO, THAT'S MY DADDY!!!!"

I informed him that it most certainly was NOT his daddy & he needed to let go RIGHT NOW.

I cannot make this stuff up.

Feeling a little sad

Last night I went to my first Varsity Consolidated football game. Those of you who know me may think it's weird that it took me this long to go, but I really had no desire to. I don't know ANY of the kids playing. I have one Bengal Belle & 2 sophomore cheerleaders, but that's it.

And as the band played, I teared up because I remember the last few years being eager to be at the games so I could take pictures of my kids, hurriedly get them developed at Walgreens and then take them to school Monday morning so I could have them up on the wall before the kids came in.

I remember Adolfo, my incredibly mature, sweet-natured kid who led the drum line in band but played football too so he would get out there and march during halftime in his uniform. But he did it barefoot because he said it was easier to march that way.

I missed Dino, one of my alltime favorite students (I know as a teacher I'm not supposed to say that, but it's true!). I watched him mature from a little sophomore all the way to a self confident senior. It was so much fun watching him grow and I loved snapping pictures because he has 'that face' and it's so expressive.

I missed watching Danny get so frustrated on the sidelines when things weren't going their way. He'd stand with his hands on his hips and then shake his head in disgust when a play didn't go as planned.

I missed watching James, Cordrick, and Jared laugh and goof off when the team was on and the game was good. As a teacher, getting to see them in their element was exciting and I tried to bring football into the classroom more because of them.

I missed watching Coach Tuck get so irate that his bald head would turn red as a beet and he would have those big macho players quaking in their cleats. Whenever I had trouble with football players in class, all I had to do was email Tuck. Problem solved.

I missed seeing all of my sweet babies in the stands. I love seeing students outside the classroom. It reminds both of us that we're people and we're not just 'student' and 'teacher'.

I missed seeing Bethany & Jill in their cheerleader outfits, catching my eye so I could take their picture.

I missed working the gate and seeing former students come back to the game, or have them sneak up behind me to give me a bearhug and tell me they missed me.

I will forever miss bringing Caden to school one day and having the star quarterback come by my room on his 'aide' period, hold out his arms to Caden and Caden jumping to him, and then both of them walking around the school for half an hour. I didn't worry about Caden at all because I knew he was with Brian and he was safe.

All of this is running through my mind - as the band is playing and the game is getting started - like a slideshow. I didn't have my camera with me. I hadn't even thought about bringing it.

I know this is part of being somewhere new - and especially someplace so incredibly huge as Consolidated, but I'm still struggling because I miss my kids. I miss my kids. What makes me love teaching is what made the decision to leave Cameron so heartwrenching.

So please pardon the melancholy nature of this post. I promise not to wallow. But for one night at one football game, the memories were just too much.