Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Lost and Found

Around the end of September my teaching assistant had a doctor's appointment one Friday right before the end of the school day. She left about fifteen minutes before school ended. While I was teaching she said bye, I gave her a glance and a wave and off she went.

That Sunday I went into my classroom to drop-off snacks for the next few weeks. I found her shirt laying on the counter by the microwave. Now I thought that was interesting. Did she go to the doctor's shirtless? Now those that know my assistant know that would not necessarily be out of the realm of possibilities. Anyway, I folded the shirt like a good nurturer and placed it on her desk.

When we arrived at work Monday she asked about her shirt laying on her desk. I told her where I found it and wondered why she left without it. Her claim was she wanted to change her clothes before going to the doctor and a child was in our classroom bathroom. Therefore she changed in the kitchen area. She then asked if I found her pants. Evidently she changed and left those behind too.

She could not find those pants. Soon they became her most comfortable favorite pants. She searched her car then remembered she drove her daughter's car. So she searched that too. She searched the bedroom at her house to no avail.

We began asking around at school if anyone had seen her lost pants. No one ever believes us at school especially when we tell them that we've lost something. We have to clarify this loss with this is REALLY true and try not to laugh as we describe the missing pants.

Searching for the Traveling Pants: They are capri blue jeans, size 4 that look like a size 14. If found please return to the kindergarten room. These pants were missing for about two weeks.

One morning, before school, we are telling the story of the lost pants to a colleague. Mimi who spends the before school time in my room is lounging on the couch with her two friends. While my assistant and I are entertaining our friend with the woeful tale of the lost pants, Mimi calls out, "Are these your pants?" There Mimi stands across the room holding the jean capris. We scream and begin laughing. Mimi and her friends had seen them in the housekeeping dress-up basket and wondered why the kindergartners had such BIG dress-up pants. Don't know how those pants go in the basket but they are found now!

More Lost Items

On, Thursday, October 9th our class went to the apple orchard, an annual field trip. It happened to be two days after my toe surgeries. I wasn't sure how things would go walking for an extended period of time over uneven terrain. It also turned out to be a drizzly hazy day with a rainy downpour for a portion of the trip. When I left my house in the morning to go to school I bandaged my toes, put on some thin but support style running socks and my running shoes. I also put my USF crocs in my backpack with an addition pair of socks in case my toes began to hurt in the tennis shoes. I really did not know how I would fair on this field trip.

I made it through the day. I had to skip the teacher pumpkin picking contest. The bus driver was my designated pumpkin picker. I did get to take some pictures of the race. Our guide claimed to the other adults that my "condition" was a ruse to take pictures and not get wet. ( I still got wet, soaking wet.) Here is my assistant with her big pumpkin and long stalk. The winner was the one with the biggest, nicest pumpkin and longest stalk.
When we returned back to school exhausted and muddy, my feet were throbbing really bad. I took off my tennis shoes and socks, replaced the bandages, put my socks back on and reached in my backpack for my crocs. I only found one!! I could not believe it. My only crocs and USF ones to boot and one was gone. I'll never find USF crocs again. My assistant tried to lift my aching spirits by suggesting that I left the one croc at home. Right!

I went home and search but no croc. I know it must have gotten lost while at the apple orchard. I called the orchard people talked to out guide (who knows us pretty well after four years of us requesting him as a guide and harassing him). He tells me fat change of finding my shoe there after their busiest weekend of the year. It's probably buried in mud in the orchard.

I give up all hope of getting my croc back. As my toes are still sore I appropriate my daughter's USF crocs and wear those to school for our teacher work day Tuesday the 13th. It's just not the same those. I have bulls and American flags on mine and she has bulls and ballet slippers on hers.

In the afternoon on Tuesday my assistant comes in the room with a box and says that the front office says I had a delivery. Now I've spent all my school supply money and everything I ordered arrived a long time ago. I'm thinking this is some mistake. As I open the box I see my croc! Evidently someone found it on the school property and left it sitting on a window sill in the teacher work room. My assistant found it and decided to wrap it up as a gift. Whatever, my crocs and I are reunited.

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