Kindergarten at Monroe Elementary


The teacher seemed flustered. I couldn't understand why. I was the one who should be flustered. Afterall-she asked the class to put their name at the top of the page she was handing out. How do you 'put' your name anywhere. I knew how to put clothes away, dishes away, food away (in my tummy), but my name? That was point one.

Point two was I had no clue how to write my name-which after I looked all sad and hurt she finally decided to come figure out what was wrong. I told her I didn't know how to 'put' my name on my paper. "What?! You don't know how to write your own name?" -Write? She expected me to write? How? I had no clue.

Then she came down to my level with the kindness that you would expect a teacher who wanted to help kids learn stuff would do. She carefully taught me how to write my first name-fortunately it is a short name! I can now 'put' my name at the top of the page!

In first grade we made witches for Halloween. They were made with orange construction paper faces, black pointy construction paper hats and soda pop bottle caps for eyes. I discovered that I liked the taste of paste-I ate so much it numbed my tongue.

I remember one of my most fun experiences in school as being in charge of making the pink frosting for our Christmas cookies. I stirred, and stirred. My teacher, Mrs. Hildebrand, let me keep working at it even though the other students kept telling her that I was licking my hand, fingers & the spoon. Funny-they seemed to have such an issue with that-I guess they would have shrunk to know that we used to let the dogs lick our plates after dinner!

Mr. Richard Boaden, our principal, came into the class with his movie camera to film the class activity. I saw the movie several years later and recalled my shame at eating so much of the frosting. My shame came from desiring and lusting to take the whole bowl and run & hide with it-to devour it and have it all to myself. I knew covetousness & lust of the flesh-the selfishness I felt was so wrong. My how weak my flesh really and truly is.

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