update

i'm feeling a little better. about midday yesterday i started sneezing up a storm. i finally gave up teaching and told them to read their history books while i sat at my desk and attempted to grade papers. poor kids. i took some nyquil last night so i could sleep and breathe at the same time, so that was good. this morning i woke up feeling a little better, but sounding horrible. i checked-no fever. darn it.

while i was in the middle of teaching this morning, i had to stop a couple of times to cough or sneeze. one sweet girl brought me a couple of tissues. less than a minute later, another boy who tends to drift toward the dramatic side brought me a couple more. when i just looked at him, he said, "you know, just in case." i wanted to laugh out loud, especially since i hadn't even had a chance to use the other tissues. i guess he couldn't let the girl outdo him. how sweet are they?!

then this afternoon everything fell apart. the class as a whole tends to be on the talkative side (i'm so getting paid back for junior high). i was reading a book to them called chocolate fever. it's a cute book and has funny parts, but my kids act like its the funniest thing they've ever heard. remember my dramatic one? he was rolling on the floor laughing. it wasn't that funny. i had already warned them about getting too loud and silly, but after two warnings, i had had enough. i finally shut the book and told them to put their heads on their desk. wide eyes just stared back at me as though i had suddenly sprouted another head. i put the book up, walked over to my desk, and said, "i thought we could have a few minutes of relaxing at the end of the day, but obviously not. i don't want to hear any noises until i say you can sit up."

ten minutes later (the best ten minutes EVER) i gave them a lecture about acting like 3rd graders and not being silly all the time. i told them that i was disappointed in them because i had to ask them twice to quit talking while i was reading, especially when they knew i was sick and couldn't speak that loudly in the first place. i also told them that tomorrow would be a brand new day, and they could show me that they knew how to act. it was a somber 3rd grade class that left my classroom today. still, on the way out the door, my drama king had to ask,

"so no prizes today?"

oh sweet Jesus-hold me up.