They're all going to laugh at you!

Since as a general rule I usually feel pretty guilty about using sick days, I made sure to come into work yesterday. My stomach was feeling better (not perfect but definitely better) and my only symptom was a persistent headache (which is still lingering a bit in the background, but we're coexisting for now). I'm going to wait things out and see how it goes. I don't want to take medication if I don't need to, and I don't mind sharing my body with some pals as long as they behave.

Another reason I didn't want to cancel yesterday was because I had a charla to do for the kids. I've done a few for staff now, but this was my first one for the kids. It can be hard to squeeze myself into their schedules so I didn't want to go through the hassle of having to reschedule.

After a full day of writing presentations and trying to keep the kid who had surgery busy, I went over the boys section for the inservice. The name of the section I had to do last night is San Antonio, they're boys from 8-12. One of the older volunteers Veronika went with me to help out a bit which was GREATLY appreciated.

As soon as we walked in I knew we were in trouble. The kids were literally hanging off of furniture, yelling and running around. They immediately attacked Veronika when they saw her computer and tried to get online while she was swatting their hands away and telling them to chill out. They were climbing over one another trying to touch buttons on the projector and ignoring us when we told them to back off. There was one kid in particular who I immediately pegged as the ring leader; he was dripping with the nogoodnik vibe and seemed to go out of his way to cause trouble for us. I subsequently deemed him my nemesis.

So I start my presentation and immediately Nemesis starts laughing and points out that I spelled something wrong. Many children laugh at my mistake. I continue. He stops to make fun of the way I pronounced something. All the children laugh. My childhood flashes back at me, Nemesis is every bully I've been teased by. Twenty years of brooding resentment boil up in me. I consider my options...

And then remember that I'm 30 and he's 10 and I only have to deal with him being obnoxious for twenty minutes, after which I can go live my happy life without him annoying me. That helps me chill out until we get to the part where I teach them how to clean their genitals and I make the mistake of saying, "You need to pull back the skin to clean the head of your penis." That's met with gales laughter and giggle fits from everyone. As they mimic washing each others heads with even more laughter, I try to explain that in the US we call the tip of your penis the head and apparently that's not the same here (while silently cursing all the people who helped me edit the presentation and didn't catch that.)

I ended up practically sprinting out of there afterwards, what a stressful way to end my day. On a positive note though, it totally renewed my love for my kids in the special needs house; they're so much easier to work with.

I have to say that I fully embrace the fact that I'm one step closer to being a crotchety old man.