Once Upon A Time...

I was a teacher "in the 'hood". I have many interesting stories from those days, and my experiences still affect my life today. It was such a unique environment to me, but there are parts of it that I am very fond of. And the parts that weren't endearing to me at the time are endearing now, because they point out lessons learned. Anyway, I'm going to share a brief story, and it's impact. :)

I was student-teaching in a 2nd grade classroom, and there was this ultra-intelligent, top of the class, sweetheart of a boy, named Stacey. He was always respectful and on top of his behavior and schoolwork. One day he came in from recess as I was standing at the door to the classroom, and this sweet child looked up at me, and in greeting said, "What up Pop Tart?!" The inflection was perfect, and the serious and innocent face cracked me up. I almost lost it! I was close to tears and nearly rolling on the floor. Who have you heard call anyone a pop tart? Anyway, it is a memory that is close to my heart, and that I probably won't have the pleasure of experiencing again in the rural, white bread-esque community that I live in currently.

Today, as I left the room, Nehemiah started to cry and clearly say, "Mama!" (I don't know if it is for real or not, but it sure seemed like it.) I didn't know what could be wrong, so I peeked my head around the corner and exclaimed, "What up Pop Tart?!"

Now it was Ben's turn to nearly lose it. We came up with " 'hood names" for my other two guys as well. Turns out Ben is "Home Skillet" and Maltby (our dog) is "Home Slice". Just something to smile about during the day. :)