contingency plan

Today one of my students asked "what do we do if you have a heart attack during class?"

I stared at him. "I eat cheerios for breakfast at least twice a week."

He stared back.

"Never mind," I said. "Are you worried about that?"

He just looked at me.

"Okay, well, if something happens during class, you should run and tell the office. Nurse Ellie will come and help me."

"What about CPR?" he asked.

Terrible terrible images of my students trying to perform CPR on my unconscious body flashed through my head. 

"Do not perform CPR on me. Did you hear that? IN NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU TRY TO PERFORM CPR ON ME."

"Okay," he said, and started to walk away.

"Wait, I want to ask you a question. Have you been worried that I'll have a heart attack? Do you feel scared that something bad might happen to me? You are such a sweet kid, but I want you to know that nothing-"

"No!" he said. "No. I'm just writing a story where this kid's teacher dies in the middle of class. I wanted to know what it would be like."

Merry Christmas, people, from my class to you. These kids are crazy and I love them to death. To a mid-lesson heart attack death, to be specific ;)

And now, because hey, it's December! here are some pictures of our Christmas tree. The colored lights remind me of my mom, and that makes me happy. 

Around this time of year I start forgetting that there are things to do besides just sit on my couch, smell our tree, and pile the blankets on. (But really, what else is there to do when it's 4 degrees out?)

Happy two weeks until Christmas!