All I really need to know, I learned in Kindergarten

11/10/09 Apron, given away

On some days, downsizing is just easy.

My grandmother gave me this apron when I first started teaching. I used it a few times, but it turns out I'm a pretty clean teacher. Rarely do children throw stain-producing liquids at me. (At least since I left my 7th grade teaching position in Paterson, NJ.)

I pulled it out of a box in my office a few weeks ago, recognizing that it needed to go. It's sat in the corner ever since.

At 4:00 this afternoon, I was ready to head home, but hadn't downsized anything.

Here's a bit of advice, folks: when you need help, ask a kindergarten teacher. Or three.

I grabbed the apron and headed down the hall. Gretchen and Claudette waved me off, but Sarah, with a slight roll of her eyes, said, "Okay, I'll take it." See, kindergarten teachers always come through.

Sarah said she'd use it in her kitchen play area, where her kids act out their future lives of domestic bliss. Now that they've got an apron, I'll have to go in and show them how to throw stuff on each other.