An Easter reminder

I've posted this story for Easter before, but it's really been on my mind as of late. So here it is again:

The Empty Egg
By: Author Unknown
Jeremy was born with a twisted body and a slow mind. At the age of 12 he was still in second grade, seemingly unable to learn. His teacher, Doris Miller, often became exasperated with him. He would squirm in his seat, drool, and make grunting noises. At other times, he spoke clearly and distinctly, as if a spot of light had penetrated the darkness of his brain. Most of the time, however, Jeremy just irritated his teacher. One day she called his parents and asked them to come in for a consultation. As the Forresters entered the empty classroom, Doris said to them, "Jeremy really belongs in a special school. It isn't fair to him to be with younger children who don't have learning problems. Why, there is a five year gap between his age and that of the other students."
Mrs. Forrester cried softly into a tissue, while her husband spoke. "Miss Miller," he said, "there is no school of that kind nearby. It would be a terrible shock for Jeremy if we had to take him out of this school. We know he really likes it here." Doris sat for a long time after they had left, staring at the snow outside the window. Its coldness seemed to seep into her soul. She wanted to sympathize with the Forresters. After all, their only child had a terminal illness. But it wasn't fair to keep him in her class. She had 18 other youngsters to teach, and Jeremy was a distraction. Furthermore, he would never learn to read and write. Why waste any more time trying? 
As she pondered the situation, guilt washed over her. Here I am complaining when my problems are nothing compared to that poor family, she thought. Lord, please help me to be more patient with Jeremy. From that day on, she tried hard to ignore Jeremy's noises and his blank stares. Then one day, he limped to her desk, dragging his bad leg behind him. 
"I love you, Miss Miller," he exclaimed, loud enough for the whole class to hear. The other students snickered, and Doris' face burned red. She stammered, "Wh-why that's very nice, Jeremy. N-now please take your seat."
Spring came, and the children talked excitedly about the coming of Easter. Doris told them the story of Jesus, and then to emphasize the idea of new life springing forth, she gave each of the children a large plastic egg. "Now," she said to them, "I want you to take this home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Miss Miller," the children responded enthusiastically-all except for Jeremy. He listened intently; his eyes never left her face. He did not even make his usual noises. Had he understood what she had said about Jesus' death and resurrection? Did he understand the assignment? Perhaps she should call his parents and explain the project to them.
That evening, Doris' kitchen sink stopped up. She called the landlord and waited an hour for him to come by and unclog it. After that, she still had to shop for groceries, iron a blouse, and prepare a vocabulary test for the next day. She completely forgot about phoning Jeremy's parents.
The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Miller's desk. After they completed their math lesson, it was time to open the eggs. In the first egg, Doris found a flower. "Oh yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new life," she said. "When plants peek through the ground, we know that spring is here." A small girl in the first row waved her arm. "That's my egg, Miss Miller," she called out. The next egg contained a plastic butterfly, which looked very real. Doris held it up. "We all know that a caterpillar changes and grows into a beautiful butterfly. Yes, that's new life, too." Little Judy smiled proudly and said, "Miss Miller, that one is mine." Next, Doris found a rock with moss on it. She explained that moss, too, showed life. Billy spoke up from the back of the classroom, "My daddy helped me," he beamed.
Then Doris opened the fourth egg. She gasped. The egg was empty. Surely it must be Jeremy's she thought, and of course, he did not understand her instructions. If only she had not forgotten to phone his parents. Because she did not want to embarrass him, she quietly set the egg aside and reached for another. Suddenly, Jeremy spoke up. "Miss Miller, aren't you going to talk about my egg?" Flustered, Doris replied, "But Jeremy, your egg is empty." He looked into her eyes and said softly, "Yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty, too." 
Time stopped. When she could speak again, Doris asked him, "Do you know why the tomb was empty?" "Oh, yes," Jeremy said, "Jesus was killed and put in there. Then His Father raised Him up."
The recess bell rang. While the children excitedly ran out to the schoolyard, Doris cried. The cold inside her melted completely away. 
Three months later, Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects at the mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket....... all of them empty.


It's been 4 months since Grandma Barnes died, and there's not a day that goes by that I don't miss her. But I take comfort in the fact that I know I will get to see her again; that death is not the end. 

When is it my turn to break down?

I had a student break down this morning. Again. It happens at least once a week...not necessarily the same student every time, though. I'm just tired of dealing with it. And he's done it before, but not like today. I think it was about 20 minutes out in the hall trying to convince him that he doesn't really want to quit school, and that he really is a smart kid. Somewhere in this conversation, I suggested something he could do when he encounters a problem with another student and asked him if he would try it for a day. His response?

"I can't do that! My name is NOT test! I don't test things out unless my name is test!"

I'm glad he can still make me laugh even when he's screaming in the hallway. :)

Other funny things I heard today:

"Miss Barnes, can I have your autograph? You're probably going to be famous after that super cool dance."

"Did your boyfriend come to watch you dance?"

"How could you keep that a secret from us? We're practically your kids!"

"It's the last day of school!" "I hate to break it to you, but you have to come back to first grade after spring break, kiddo" (That was said by another student.....not me.)

"You want to kiss them on the lips!"

I really don't know what I'm going to do without this year's class clown. Or the rest of my class. They always manage to pick the perfect moments to say something extra funny. Today, they somehow got on the subject of hugs and kissing, and several of them thought it was the same thing. That was an interesting discussion! Here's a few things I heard throughout my day:

"Miss Barnes, you love them because they're your boyfriends and you want to kiss them on the lips!"

"Your secret is that you have a boyfriend! You're engaged! Getting married?" (Don't worry, she didn't take a breath or allow me to answer before the getting married part.)

"Why don't you have a boyfriend? I thought you liked boys."

"Miss Barnes, are you ever going to get married?"

"Are you still going to come here if you get married tomorrow?"

Ha! My class is very invested in my nonexistent love life.

Classroom friendly supplies

I don't actually know much of anything about this pencil sharpener, but they claim to the the best thing ever for teachers. And I read a handful of the reviews and they were all good. And from the video I watched, it looks pretty neat. Plus, they're doing a give away. And who doesn't like free stuff?! So, if I win it, I'll be sure to let you know how great it really is. :)