Just the Secretary

Not too long ago, I received the following little gem of a phone call at work:

Him: "Yeah, I'd like to speak to someone about the Science Fair."

Me: "Oh! You're speaking to the right person. How may I help you?"

Him: "Well....um... who are you?"

Me: I said my name when I answered the phone, but anyway...
"This is Diane. I coordinated the Science Fair this year. Is there something I can help you with?"

Him: "Sooooo. Ummmm.... Do you work there?"

Me: No. I'm some derelict that wandered in off the street. I heard a phone ringing and I answered it.
"Yes, I sure do. I'm the secretary here. Can I help you?" (For the 50th time?)

Him: "So let me get this straight. You're JUST the secretary down there, and they put YOU are in charge of the Science Fair??"

Me: cringing that he said 'JUST the secretary.'
"Yes, that's right."

Him: "Don't take this the wrong way, but why in the world wasn't a teacher put in charge of the Science Fair? Or someone at least with a science background?"

Me: Yeah, thanks, I'll try not to take that the wrong way.
"Well, you know, I do happen to have a 'science background'."
(completely irritated that I have to defend myself to this dude.)
"I have a degree in Microbiology and worked many years as a Medical Technologist."
OR maybe you'd rather have a teacher with a degree in Home Ec be in charge? Not that there's anything wrong with a Home Ec degree, you understand, but you want someone that doesn't know the Scientific Method from a hole in the ground running the thing? Not that an elementary Science Fair is rocket science. But still.

Him: "Oh...."

Me: How do you like dem apples?
"So, sir, HOW CAN I HELP YOU?"

Him: "I just wanted to pass on that I thought the Science Fair was well organized this year."

Me: Oh gee - thanks.

Him: "And I was just curious...if you supposedly have all this science background, why are you there? Why are you just the secretary at my son's school?"

There's that 'just the secretary' nugget again.

Yeah. I'm not sure if this guy was trying hard to be JUST an idiot, or if it came naturally.

But I do get asked that a lot. Why am I the secretary at my kids' school? There are many answers to that question. Sometimes, to be honest, I don't have a CLUE what I'm doing here. Coincidentally, this clueless feeling usually occurs on the days I'm cleaning up puke or helping a kid who just peed all over the floor.

I used to think I was here because I got 1/2 off my kids' tuition by working here. (Don't get me wrong - that's huge! That's why I accepted the job. But that's not why I stay.) I'm here for a lot of reasons. I have a lot of stories I could tell that answers that question. But I'll just tell one today.

There's a little girl that goes to school here. When she started in September, she was very angry. She never smiled. She did not talk. And every single morning she was tardy. But I didn't mind, because as I wrote out her tardy slip, I smiled at her and told her I hoped that she would have a good day. She never smiled back and never said a word to me. In fact, she glared at me most mornings.

She gets in trouble. A lot. She's in the principal's office all the time. She struggles academically. And she was even moved back a grade. The other kids don't play with her because they say she's not nice. The teachers dog her because she misbehaves. All of this made her even angrier.

I don't know much about her home life, but I know her mom is a struggling single mom, and she tries hard.

So here it is March. I have spent six months smiling at this girl, winking at her in the halls, giving her quick words of encouragement, with nothing back. Zip. Nada.

That all changed this week!

This week, this little girl has started to soften! She smiles back! She winks back. And yesterday? Yesterday she paused in front of my window until I looked up, and then she smiled. She smiled first.

Maybe that doesn't sound like much to you. But I know that I am making a small difference in this little girl's life. I'm not sure why she's softening, I'm just glad she is. I'm thankful she's here in our school. And I'm thankful that I'm 'just the secretary' at this school.

That's why I'm here, Mr. Jerk on the phone. I'm here for the little girl that smiles at me now, and a million other little reasons. I could be in a lab someplace making a lot more than I do now. And, maybe I will do that again some day. But right now? I'm here.

I'm here because I believe God placed me here. I believe He wants me to do what I can to make a difference, as small as it is, in the lives of the children here.

Isn't that what it's all about?

(Oh yeah. And also? I get a month off in the summer & Christmas and Easter breaks off. Don't forget THAT.)

Lab Coats and Gold Medals

So today in chapel, we announced Science Fair winners. But we couldn't just blandly stand up there and call off names. Oh no. We (two teachers and I) dressed up in lab coats and Einstein wigs to do the honors. Ha! (I'm the dork in the middle.) As soon as we walked into chapel, the kids just started howling. The computer teacher (the guy on the right) announced the winners in this voice he said was supposed to be like a crazy German Scientist, but mostly sounded like Grover from Sesame Street. :) The kids loved it!

And yes, Cole was right. He took home the gold. I had a 'you can't win 'em all' speech all prepared, but I guess I'll have to save it for another day. Although I am thinking I need to come up with a 'virtues of humility' speech. Because he's strutting around with his gold medal thinking he's pretty cool. Lexi also took home a gold medal!! And Gage got a silver. So all in all, a very successful Science Fair.

Later after chapel, I was working at my desk (sans the costume) and I heard a little girl walk by and tell her friend, "That nice lady at the desk went a little crazy today."

Ha! Yes, I did. And it felt pretty darn good.

Science Geeks Unite!

Ok, let me say this: I LOVE the Science Fair. With all my HEART, I love science fair day. I experience sheer joy when I look at an entire gym full of projects. I'm not sure what it is. Maybe it's that proud look that even the youngest of students have when they stand in front of their projects. Projects that they've worked sooo hard on. Or maybe it's the spark in the kids' eyes when they get to explain their project to the judges. I love that even the children that get dogged at school - the ones that get in trouble all the time - even for one day, get to feel proud and accomplished and excited on Science Fair Day.

So, to the boy who has gotten 34509349058 tardies so far this year? I will happily write out your tardy slip tomorrow morning because I can't wait to tell you that your balloon project with vinegar and soda was amazing!

And the little girl who can vomit on demand? The one that exhibited her talent all over the library floor last week for me to clean up? I forgive you. Because your glass xylophone project rocked! (But ummm...no more puking, K? Not on my watch.)

The best part? Tomorrow is Day TWO of our Science Fair. That's right. Two days of out-and-out delight for this science geek.

It's All About the Win

So, I spent almost the entire day helping the kids with their Science Fair projects. There's a certain amount of pressure, because I am in charge of our school's Science Fair. So yeah, we can't have sucky projects.

So that being said, it's even more important that the kids do their own projects. I have to resist the urge to "help" them too much. (Why? Because I wrote the judging form. And a big part of the judging is that the kids did their own projects. It's painfully obvious when the moms and dads did the project but slapped the kid's name on it and called it good.)

Ok, so yesterday morning I told all three kids that they needed to come up with a Bible verse corresponding to their project. (Did I mention this was a Christian School? Yeah, so each project must have a Biblical application relating to it.) So later that morning, to my amazement, the kids had not only followed directions, BUT they had each found a pretty good Biblical application to their projects! My oldest did a project on bees and how they protect their queen and how during the wintertime their job is to keep her warm and fed. So his verse was about honoring your father and mother, just like the bees honor their queen (Exodus 20:12.) Wow! Good one. My daughter's project is on hair color and how that relates to it's strength. So she had a whole thing written out about Samson and his hair, but how really our strength comes from God. (We're on a roll now! My heart was swelling!!) Ok, so my youngest, my 7-year old, is doing a project on bird nests. So he came up with those verses in Matthew 7 about building your house on a solid foundation, and how just like the bird builds a strong house, we should build our lives on rock (Jesus) not sand.

OH yeah. I was patting myself on the back. Slappin' myself high fives...I mean seriously! I was tearing up listening to my children. I thought, Wow. I'm sure we've done many things wrong with these kids, but we must have done SOMETHING right! What awesome kids these are!! I don't want to brag or anything, but woo hoo! My kids are awesome! (Ok, I did call a friend or two AND my sister to brag.) But I had to! I was in parenthood nirvana.

Briefly.

Cole (my 7-year-old): Mom, isn't my project cool?
Me: Yes, VERY cool. You did a fantastic job!
Cole: Yeah, I think I'm gonna win the Science Fair.
Me: Well, remember, Cole, it's not about winning. It's
about doing your best and learning something about science!
Cole: No, I think it's about winning.
Me: But didn't you have fun? Wasn't it great this weekend working on these projects together? We learned so much about bird nests and God's wonderful creation. That's what it's all about.
Cole: (looking truly shocked) No, for me it's all about the win.
Me: You may not realize it now Cole, but some day you'll look back on this and remember how fun this weekend was and how much you
learned.
Cole: (staring at me like I'm an alien) I guess so. Whenever I'm polishing my gold medal, I guess I'll remember this weekend.

Yeah. My work is not done here.