poop on a paper towel

May 8: Jazlene told us she had an onion sandwich for lunch today. After a long line of questioning, we finally got it out of her that it was a ham sandwich with onions. All the teachers have been routinely making jokes about onion sandwiches and cracking up every time. I told the story to Nick. I guess it’s only funny to teachers.

May 9: One of the Reading Buddy volunteers knocked on my door to inform me that someone had pooped on a paper towel right outside the door to the boy’s bathroom next to the cafeteria.

May 10: My kids’ favorite part of our trip to City College’s campus was when a man on the sidewalk cussed me out. When he saw our classes lining up behind the main gate, he yelled at them to never become lawyers because lawyers are liars. They should become doctors instead. I thought his statement could be improved upon, so I immediately yelled that they should become whatever they wanted to be and to not let a complete stranger tell them what to do. The man was not happy with my edits.

May 11: I was a little worried about losing Abel during the march to college, so I held his hand for the entire hour it took us to get to John O’Connell High School. A few police cars would park in the intersection when we crossed so that no car could even try to drive through our crowd. It was a nice gesture, but it left most of the kinds wondering why we were being followed by the police.

May 12: Luna was already crying when she was released from her day class. She curled up into a tiny ball against the wall where my kids lined up for program. I sat next to her and asked her why she was crying. She wouldn’t lift her head to look at me. “I’m scared.” “Why are you scared?,” I asked her. I looked around, searching for anyone who might be responsible. Luna took a deep breath and stared intently at her untied shoelaces. “Because I’m Latina,” she said, so softly I almost wasn’t sure I heard her correctly.

May 13: After her lecture about writing, Anne Lamott invited the entire audience of 100 people to attend the service at her church tomorrow. Their congregation is apparently made up of some sober people, a handful of Jewish people, and a ton of lesbians.

May 14: Nick woke me up with a Mother’s Day card from the dogs. It contained two messy paw prints and two clumps of their fur taped inside.




much love,
hedgie