Day 162 - Honk Away

But no matter what birds we observe, it always seem more people are observing us. Moving so close to my school, we knew there would be impromptu run-ins with community members and families. Even when we lived in a community adjacent to where my school is located, we ran into students or former students at the grocery store. On a side note, one of the most interesting and humorous parts of these encounters is how surprised kids seem to be when they see a teacher outside of school in normal clothes doing normal things. Some people purposely work away from where they live to avoid these types of encounters. Even though I personally don't feel the need to avoid this situation, I’ve never really had to. I’ve run into families on unexpected ruin-ins at many more exotic places than Target. I’ve run into families in the bustling metropolis of Chicago. I’ve run into families at a remote waterfall in the Great Smoky Mountains. I’ve run into families pretty much anywhere. Now that we lived so close, we knew we would definitely run into people we knew from school much more often.

Daily, I get a random honk as cars pass by. I try to wave and catch the honker but it is usually too late and I am left with a mystery. Sometimes that mystery is solved when a student mentions the encounter the next day at school. Being in kindergarten, sometimes it’s not exactly the next day. I have had kids tell me they saw me “mowing the lawn yesterday” in the middle of winter. Though the timing may be off occasionally, they are definitely watching. I wished Ilived a more exciting life for them to enjoy.

Usually, I am working on the chicken yard, watering the trees, or mowing the lawn. Riveting, I know. Yet, to a student, it must be exciting because kids are always eager to tell me what they saw me doing the next time our paths cross.

So if you see me in the yard, keep the honks coming. I try to have fun with it. Run-ins break the monotony and add a little pizazz to my playful life.