Jordan is a 7th grade girl at my school and happens to be in my first hour class and visits me during lunch to work on homework. We realized early on our personalities clicked. Jordan's humor fills my day. She lifts me up when I am down. She provides a never ending saga of laughter and sarcasm. I will never tire of her presence nor her positive light on life. The following is just another moment of our exchange and the onslaught that follows.
"My mouth just about fell out of its face!"
This is the exclamation I proclaimed after I unknowingly chomped on a pinwheel for lunch (a tortilla rolled up with lettuce, meat, cheese and usually some sort of sauce inside and then cut into small sections). All other pinwheels brought in throughout the year had been 'normal' with basic ranch dressing sauce or some sort of cream cheese. Not this one. Nope. This bad boy was one molecule short of a nuclear bomb exploding in my mouth, covering all possible nerve endings with its spicy invisible plume.
I looked to where Jordan was sitting and realized I had startled her. Jordan's face was a mixture of mesmerized disturbance. Her cherub-like face changed almost instantly, becoming lit with anticipation and glee in the fact that her teacher was choosing to show a more child-like side of herself. All but bouncing up and down on my cushy swivel chair, I purposefully attempted various remedies to alleviate what was now akin to the aftermath of a volcano's explosion - the layer of lava that was now searing the inside of my mouth.
The fact that my mouth (and all counterparts within) was in serious distress was not enough for Jordan. Nay. Through drinking milk (short of gargling it) and realizing it was making the heat worse, shoveling delicious green been casserole into my mouth (to no avail), and finally nibbling on some bread, Jordan's cackle of laughter climaxed to a new level.
"You are the weirdest teacher in this school. No. The nation. Wait, yeah, no wait, the universe. Oh! Nope, definitely the galaxy!" Jordan said without judgement, feeling proud of her declaration.
My face mirrored laughter even as I attempted 'the glare' in her direction. This of course only increased her mirth inciting further gaggles of laughter (from both of us this time) - our bodies thrown back against our chairs and our arms encircling our waists.
A minute or two later...
Jordan was still on a roll from the earlier episode relating the whole experience to the other girls who had re-entered my classroom. They of course did not appreciate the situation - as much as Jordan would have expected - considering they were not present during the whole ordeal. They did not see Jordan's humor.
"Oh Jordan, you are hilarious!" I reassured her.
To which Jordan dramatically threw her hands in the air as she plopped onto the hard, blue chair beneath her in exasperation saying, "Finally! At least someone understands me!"
"Uh, wait a minute," I interjected as I searched for the pale yellow sticky note among the scattered papers on my desk.
"Ah, yes." I held my index finger in the air waiting for the dramatic silence I knew would follow. " I do believe you said earlier, and I quote, 'You are the weirdest teacher in this school', end quote, and now you admit that I understand you. Therefore, if I am weird and I understand you then you must also be weird!"
Naturally, I over dramatized this last statement, throwing my fist into the air and standing with a definite air. Jordan's expression altered in mere seconds as she registered the implications I was making. Coming up with nothing more than a combination of sputters and gestures, she gave up and entertained us with yet another gale of laughs and deep-hearted chortles.
This is what makes working with these kids so rewarding - getting to see their spirits and personalities bloom and blunder through laughter and fun. Not only is Jordan learning to laugh about herself, but she is also learning to open up and "try out" the different facets of her personality. I love watching this mini movie unfold before me. I feel privileged and blessed to be able to watch all the previews, the trailers, the extras. This moment, like many others, has taught me something - allow myself to laugh and blunder because that is how I will learn about my true self. Another pebble to add to my path.
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