Mrs. Eaton is Dead Now
Today I was putting documents into a looseleaf binder and almost forgot to look as I closed the binder. I moved my hand just before the silver rings snapped closed, and I was instantly reminded of a day in elementary school.
One afternoon when I was in kindergarten, I didn't feel well and got sent to the nurse's office. Mrs. Eaton had me sit on the cot while she did whatever it is school nurses do (dispense ice packs? dispense Band-Aids? let students take power naps?). Then two "big girls" from fourth grade came in - one of them had caught the skin between her thumb and pointer while closing her looseleaf and needed ... ice?
I had previously looked up to these big girls who were so very cool with their looseleafs. I longed for an ugly blue looseleaf with stickers to carry around the hallways like they did. To realize one of them had hurt herself simply because she hadn't paid attention completely knocked her off the pedestal I'd put her on. I vowed to pay enough attention to what I was doing so that I wouldn't get injured.
Mrs. Eaton finished with the big girls and sent them back to class before turning her attention to me. She decided I would live and instructed me to put the icepack back in the freezer before going back to class. I hopped off the cot and tried to open the freezer. I was five years old. The freezer door was stuck and I couldn't open it. I asked Mrs. Eaton for help. She told me to pull harder. So I pulled with all the strength my five year old body could muster up. And I tipped the whole fucking thing forward. Somehow I realized what was about to happen and managed to body slam the freezer back against the wall before it squished me. But the glass coffee pot sitting on top of the freezer slid forward and fell to the floor near my feet and broke into tiny pieces. I was lucky it didn't break on top of my head.
I was mortified beyond belief. I apologized profusely to Mrs. Eaton. I told her I would ask my mother if we had an extra coffee pot we could bring her. I apologized again. I wanted to cry. Mrs. Eaton yelled at me to just go back to class. I was still holding the icepack and didn't know what to do with it. I started to ask, but she yelled at me to get out. So I put the icepack on her desk, apologized yet again, and ran back to my classroom.
For the rest of the year whenever we saw Mrs. Eaton in the hallways, I was too embarrassed to say hello to her like all the other kids did. I was sure she hated me. All because I broke her coffee pot. Mrs. Eaton retired at the end of the year.
I haven't caught my fingers in a looseleaf yet.
One afternoon when I was in kindergarten, I didn't feel well and got sent to the nurse's office. Mrs. Eaton had me sit on the cot while she did whatever it is school nurses do (dispense ice packs? dispense Band-Aids? let students take power naps?). Then two "big girls" from fourth grade came in - one of them had caught the skin between her thumb and pointer while closing her looseleaf and needed ... ice?
I had previously looked up to these big girls who were so very cool with their looseleafs. I longed for an ugly blue looseleaf with stickers to carry around the hallways like they did. To realize one of them had hurt herself simply because she hadn't paid attention completely knocked her off the pedestal I'd put her on. I vowed to pay enough attention to what I was doing so that I wouldn't get injured.
Mrs. Eaton finished with the big girls and sent them back to class before turning her attention to me. She decided I would live and instructed me to put the icepack back in the freezer before going back to class. I hopped off the cot and tried to open the freezer. I was five years old. The freezer door was stuck and I couldn't open it. I asked Mrs. Eaton for help. She told me to pull harder. So I pulled with all the strength my five year old body could muster up. And I tipped the whole fucking thing forward. Somehow I realized what was about to happen and managed to body slam the freezer back against the wall before it squished me. But the glass coffee pot sitting on top of the freezer slid forward and fell to the floor near my feet and broke into tiny pieces. I was lucky it didn't break on top of my head.
I was mortified beyond belief. I apologized profusely to Mrs. Eaton. I told her I would ask my mother if we had an extra coffee pot we could bring her. I apologized again. I wanted to cry. Mrs. Eaton yelled at me to just go back to class. I was still holding the icepack and didn't know what to do with it. I started to ask, but she yelled at me to get out. So I put the icepack on her desk, apologized yet again, and ran back to my classroom.
For the rest of the year whenever we saw Mrs. Eaton in the hallways, I was too embarrassed to say hello to her like all the other kids did. I was sure she hated me. All because I broke her coffee pot. Mrs. Eaton retired at the end of the year.
I haven't caught my fingers in a looseleaf yet.
posted by Green at 2/14/2006 09:55:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home