They Call Me 'The Stirmanator'

It has not been an easy week in Room 24. Many of those situations that come from being in a different mindset than mine, different world, different household have come to light and been hurdles for us. Add to that some cold (was that last week or the week before that I said I don't get colds?) or something that only has me coughing when I lie down to try to sleep at night and I am emotionally and physically exhausted.

Yesterday, in getting geared up for what had the potential to be a tense parent conference, I put on something that looked nice (including my black pants) and because it was about 34* when I left the house, I threw on a black suit jacket. Even though the jacket was bought about 10 years before the pants, both being black, people assume I'm wearing some fancy suit-type thing when I put them on together. Then, because the sun was out for the first time in a month, I stuck my sunglasses on top of my head so that I would have them for recess because come what may, Room 24 was getting OUTSIDE in the sun!

The daily chaos began when the bell rang to come into the class and I was still juggling papers, welcoming kids, receiving signed papers when the perpetually-tardy Thing 1 came into class breathlessly asking if he was late. "No, sweetie, you still have 5 minutes. You did great today."

"Thanks. You look really beautiful, Mrs. Stirman. You look like, like, like a Secret Agent."

At that point I realized I still had my sunglasses on top of my head. God just continues to give me little blessed surprises amongst it all -- I did have a good laugh over being mistaken (by a 2nd grader, of course) for a secret agent while I was a 2nd grade teacher. Yeah, I get that a lot! HA!