Some Laughter

My last post was about some of the things I've learned at Creme (some through tears) and so now I think it's time to share some parts of my job that make me laugh! I have one little boy in my class, K, who I absolutely adore, but who also tests me continually. He is the most enthusiastic and affectionate little boy you'll ever meet, but he is also the most high maintenance little boy you'll ever meet. He is always touching, pushing, yelling, making noises, trying to get the people around him to make noises, hugging, laughing really loudly, running, grabbing, banging, provoking the other kids, etc. He makes the kids around him mad all the time, but it's not done maliciously, just in an attempt to make some fun. And because of this, I am continually asking him to stop and asking him to apologize. He is VERY generous with his apologies. He is always so quick to say, "I'm sorry," and to tell his friends reassuringly, "You'll be okay," as though someone else was the cause of their tears. He also tells me every day (sometimes multiple times a day) that he loves me, I'm his best friend, and that I'm beautiful. Have I mentioned I love this kid? :)

So there's the back-up of this funny story. It's about 5:15 pm and K has had an especially hard time controlling himself this day. I'm tired of correcting him, and so when he does the same thing I've just asked him not to do 30 seconds ago, I impatiently say to him, "K, I just asked you not to do that. You have to stop doing that." He looks completely unaffected and proceeds to respond with his quick and obligatory "I'm sorry," and for some reason his cute face, his spirit so resilient to ever feeling defeated or discouraged, his Indian accent as he says "I'm sorry," and everything about the whole day strikes me as so FUNNY. I try really hard not to laugh, but that only makes it burst out all the more when I can't contain it. All the kids immediately look at me surprised and it doesn't take long for them to all join in with me, even though they have no idea what they are laughing about. I have a hard time stopping laughing and the kids have no problem keep right on laughing with me. I think we laughed for a good three to five minutes together. :)

And here's another thing that made me laugh: We're all outside on a beautiful day at about 4:15 pm. One of the kids, R, tells me that he saw me through the looking glass on the playground. I say, "Really? How'd I look?" He puts his head down slightly, tries not to smile, and says, "Great. Great with lipstick on." I tried not to laugh, just to look happy and pleased, but afterwards I laughed really hard about it.

And last one: one of the little girls in my coteacher's class calls me, "Ms. Happy." Every time she calls me that, a smile comes to my soul.