I was attacked today. It was a group attack, started by one person. They all had weapons. It was terrifying. I had only been on the play ground for about 1-1/2 minutes before the boys saw me. “Ms. Carlson!” was their battlecry as they aimed their soakers at me and fired. Water day was not a good day to wear my white shorts I guess. I had threatened to wear my polka dot undies but, thankfully I was only kidding. The world (school) would have had an eye full had I followed through on that threat.

It was actually a super (soaker) fun day. Once again I was amazed that I was actually getting paid to play with a huge group of kids. I’m not sure if I can really justify writing down my hours from today on my time card. “What did you do at work today?” “I played in the water, ate snow cones and popcorn and laughed like a goof ball.” Yeah….hard stuff.

As the year comes to a close I look around at these 300+ kids that were mostly strangers to me nine months ago and wonder where they will all end up. There are a few that pull at my heart strings because they remind me so much of my own kids. Mess with those kids and the mamma tiger starts to come out. Will they have a good summer? Will I see them again? Will they have a good safe summer?  I wonder if my kids will be missed by the people that work a their schools. Am I the only one that feels sad as all my ‘kids’ leave to their life without me?

I look at the kids that really are mine. They wait for me at home, hoping to have a good summer, not missing school at all…..they say. Will I help them have a good summer? Will they be glad to escape back to school in the fall? Its a weird world where we send kids off to school to be raised and taught….while we go to work at a school to raise and teach other people’s kids. Kind of seems like a circle that doesn’t quite close all the way.  Hopefully…. my kids learn from me too. Hopefully I’m a good teacher at both home and work. Hopefully, as we all go our different directions each year we learn things we can bring back to the collective and share and grow together. That way, home is a sort of melting pot of it’s own, a big soup of experiences.  Sounds kind of tasty….cause I said so.

Photo credit: http://www.modernman.com/water-guns-that-win-any-fight/