toot-sweets...

Many, many years ago, I taught pre-school. It was during my college years. I stumbled upon it while looking on the job boards at school, needing something that would allow me to go to school in the morning and the theater at night. I was a drama major and was always working on a show. The hours were from lunch to 6pm. Perfect.

When I took the job, little did I know I was about to get the education of a life time. Not only did I learn psychology, nature vs. nurture, etc. it was on the job training for the most important job of my life, being a mother. I didn’t realize it at the time but now I see what a gift it was. It completely prepared me for motherhood and gave me a leg up. Thank God since when I became a mother, I would be flying solo. (Although, somehow I already knew this.)

At the time I kept a journal but was too busy acting like Anais Nin and writing about my many lovers to jot down funny stories about the shenanigans of the preschoolers. It didn’t seem important or big enough. There wasn’t enough drama compared to the rest of my life. When really, it could have been my best seller. Now that I’m older and wiser I see people would much rather read about children doing funny things than my twenty-something sexcapades.

Anyhoo, there is one story that I will never forget and here it is.

Toot-Sweets

As always, we had the kids wash their hands after coming in from outside. The preschool was a cozy old house in North Seattle. The kids lined up outside the bathroom and we kept an eye on them over the Dutch door while making cups of tea and chatting. They knew the routine, wash your hands and then sit down on the rug and look at books.

It wasn’t long before the kids got a little louder. We peaked over and heard, “Taylor has a flute.” Another chimed in “I want a flute.”

“It’s not fair that Taylor and Sam both have flutes,” several whined.

Keela, a fellow teacher and I looked at each quizzically and stepped through the door to see what was going on.

There were Taylor and Sam playing their “flutes” – cardboard tampon applicators.

Our jaws dropped. We hid our laughter and asked them to throw their “flutes” back in the trash. Then we gave a little lesson about picking stuff out of the garbage.

That incident remained our little secret. (wink, wink)