Being home has its perks. My mom, being my biggest fan by obligation of giving birth to me, is home every day when I get back from school to tell my tales of woe and harrowing adventure to (she’s also there to ensure I clean up after dinner and put things away). But it’s all fun and for the most part, probably all of my part, I enjoy being home — especially when it means I have my mom to talk to when I get home. Sometimes Jayme and her friends but this whole “being teacher” and almost being 25 has exempt me from being cool in her eyes. That’s another issue.

Anyway, I took my mom to school on Monday. Yup, show and tell of the greatest type. She just sat in the back of the room, walked around and took pictures, and then smiled a ton. Harmless. I introduced her as a “special guest — my MOM” which was met with excellent comments like

Ohhh Miss Stam, you needed your Mommmmmmmm to hold your hand and bring you to class?
Yes K. Just like I saw you kiss your Mom goodbye in her van in the parking lot yesterday.

That wasn’t his mom Miss Stam.

Uh oh.

🙂

Still, other questions about “Hey, are you bringing Daddy tomorrow now? Or your little sister? Or the rest of your parents’ kagillion (?) kids? Bring your nephew Weston (yup, he’s famous Jes), although you might have to hold his hand? Can’t your friend that…” just went on and on and on. Either way, it was pretty cool to have my mom come to work with me.

Another thing about going to high school again brings me a little ways back into the archives of my own experience. An exceptional perk of being home is…yup…Mom makes my lunch. And they aren’t heinous lunches, they are epic — with tupperware containers filled to the brim of watermelon and other fruits I love, sandwiches I can’t fit my mouth around, homemade cookies, and the list goes on. When I was in high school, my lunches were coveted. I remember Suzanne creeping through my backpack to take food while my locker stood open during the lunch break.

Every so often, Mom would leave us treats or, my favourite, little notes of encouragement so that when we went for our snacks or lunch it would be a SURPRISE! Mom is thinking of me (Or in my case, SURPRISE! Mom is checking in on me and making sure I am staying out of trouble)! Anything from bookmarks to little toys to notecards with blessings and sweet love on them. Sometimes she would mangle with our food, like heart-shaped sandwiches for Valentine’s Day or taking a bite out of a sandwich and wrapping it up so I wouldn’t notice. The most hilarious one was a sandwich that she put all the grossest condiments on accompanied by lunch meat, some veggies, and a lollypop. That’s right, I didn’t know what was coming when I took a bite, it tasted worse than anything, and I all but broke my tooth on the lollypop stick.

Thanks mom.

Anyway, yesterday I was minding my business in the staff room when I sat down with my lunch and found a sweet little note of encouragement from my mom. My food was not tampered with but receiving the note felt a little like transference or a time warp… only instead of standing in the hallway with Jocelyn and whoever else, being obnoxious, I was sitting in the staff room, on a comfy couch, drinking my coffee with my legs crossed and glasses on my nose, perusing a (WICKED!!) new resource for teaching, overhearing (and sometimes adding to) a conversation about American Foreign policy from the other side of the room… thinking, oh wow…have I arrived?

Yup. And I still need my mom there with me to hold my hand. That’s alright, isn’t it?