Bridget had been all kinds of excited for me to sub in her Kindergarten
class again--well, up until today, that is.
Looking back, she was kind
of quiet on the way to school, but I'm sure I had my mind on other
things as I usually do first thing in the morning, so I didn't really
notice.
I started my day out on the playground, making sure hundreds of
spring-fevered children didn't attempt to fling themselves (or each
other) off the top of the slide before the morning whistle even had a
chance to blow. I remember seeing that familiar pink backpack resting
neatly against the school wall, marking Bridget's place at the front of
the line. I only remember because I thought it was unusual--my disaster
of a daughter doing anything other than chucking her backpack on the
ground, only to come to me in despair over her "lost" belongings.
Eight-twenty signaled the
I-don't-know-how-no-one-got-trampled-in-the-mad-chaos transition from
playground to classroom, and school was officially underway. As I
headed into Mrs. Hansen's room, I expected your usual Kindergarten
chatter, but instead, I saw a dozen little bodies huddled around that
familiar pink backpack, whispering excitedly. I knew it was something, I just wasn't expecting this....
Yep. Your eyes are not deceiving you. That is in fact, a baby bird, loving placed in a nest of blanket and stealthily brought to school in the bottom of an emptied-out, familiar pink backpack. This contraband turned into the ultimate show-and-tell for our little criminal, who's official street name is now Mama Bird.
