One of Those Days

It didn't seem like it would be one of those days when I got up this morning. All went fairly well and we were out the door in plenty of time. My son did miss the bus because I was writing a check for his book order, but that was really no biggie since I have time to drop them off at school with time to spare now that I don't do attendance window duty any more.

As I was heading around the back of the school to get to the teacher parking lot, I saw the school photographer setting up the outdoor camera and it hit me: Today was senior makeup day.

I never even went to my classroom. I headed straight to the main office to get the senior sign in sheet, but I bumped into the assistant principal on the way. He smiled at me and held up three fingers. Knowing that two fingers means "peace" and one finger can mean either "wait" or the opposite of "peace," I was unsure what his three stood for.

My puzzled glance earned me a clue. He said, "Covering."

My mind started its usual scramble to figure out what I should be thinking, especially since I was focused on the senior sheet and getting everything done before my students came to class. It finally clicked that he was reminding me I had to cover another teacher's class at 3:00. I intelligently replied, "Ohhhhhh..." as my befuddled brain began to send alerts that there was something I was supposed to ask him. I stood right beside him and stared at the corner of the roof blankly as I flipped the Rolodex of my neurological pathways and frantically tried to recall what I was forgetting.

Since he doesn't know me that well, the assistant principal thought my blank gaze was because I was still paying attention to his three fingers. When he kindly clarified, "You're supposed to cover Stacie's class at 3:00," he interrupted my thought train. Unthinkingly, I responded, "Yeah, yeah, yeah" with a dismissive flick of my hand.

Seconds later, I remembered the simple something I had wanted to mention to him two days ago that really had no relevance now. At almost the same moment, I realized what I had just said. I was horrified. It's not just that I was rude to him; it's that he's sort of my new boss and I was really rude to him. I immediately apologized, and tried to explain myself.

"I'm sorry. That was really rude and I didn't mean to say it out loud." (That wasn't really any better.) "I was trying to remember what I needed to ask you." (Getting there.) "Then I realized it really wasn't important enough and that you weren't the one who would have the answer anyway." (Eh....) "Do you know where Tony is?" (Tony is the head principal. In effect, I dismissed him with my apology and asked to speak to his supervisor.)

Luckily, it's a small school and he did know me a little from our previous years teaching together. *sigh* I hope he's forgotten all about the thoughts that the look on his face told me he was thinking. At least he was smiling when I walked away.

Come to think of it, that's the expression that many people have when I leave. Hmm...