Wearing a support boot up to my knee gets a lot of comments. Everybody asks what happened. Yesterday I changed my story from the truth (turning my foot to the point that it is swollen so much that the toes look like they belong on another planet) to a snowboarding accident. Of course, no one believed me, but at least I didn't have to explain my boring story again and again.
Last night I started a new childbirth series at the hospital and was surprised that not one of my students inquired about my foot. Then it occurred to me that they had just met me and might have thought that I always have a boot on my left leg. If I add a boot to the other foot and get a mask, I will look like a baseball catcher.:)
That boot is certainly zapping my energy. Just lugging it around all day makes me tired. I try to be my normal, energetic self while teaching, but it isn't easy. It makes me think about some of the times I was evaluated as a teacher when I was not at my finest moment. Maybe I had a cold, a bad night's sleep, a headache, etc., and in comes the principal with a yellow note pad and a somber expression. "Spring into action, Betty! You are on display and must impress this person." That is what I always said in my mind. I wonder now if I ever said it out loud.
My question is, "Why was that intimidating notepad always yellow, and why the somber expression?" Aren't we all in this together? Why did I have so many principals who seemed to enjoy making teachers squirm during evaluations? A smile and a bit of compassion go a long way.