I do curb duty one week each month at my school. I don’t care for standing out there in the cold, so I do what I can to jazz it up a bit. I’ve begun wearing funny hats and outfits. It makes people smile and laugh. My coworkers think I’m nuts. So be it.
If anyone asks me why I do it, I tell them this story:
I picked my son up from school a few years ago, and he asked the usual question: “How was your day?” So, I told him.
“Well, a kid threw up in my room, the copy machine jammed up again, and I forgot my lunch. All in all, it was a good day.”
Joe stared at me. “Mom, you had a rotten day.”
I shook my head. “Son, a few days ago, I watched a video of kids in Haiti eating dirt cookies because their mothers were too poor to feed them anything else. https://youtu.be/s3337cj4sJQ I’ve seen pictures of kids drinking from mud puddles who have no clean water.
All around the world, people are starving to death, being sold as slaves, abused or abandoned, living in refugee camps or on the streets.
We have a home. Your dad and I both have decent jobs. We are all healthy. Any day that doesn’t include a financial upheaval, a trip to the ER, or a call from the police is a good day.”
He thought about that a moment and then replied, “Mom, you had a good day.”
People wonder how I can stand at the curb in the morning wearing goofy hats or dress up in outlandish Christmas outfits. It’s because the good days in my life greatly outnumber the bad ones. Not all of the children I work with can say that. No all of my coworkers can. I don’t dress up for me. I dress up for them. To see them smile. To let them have one funny moment to start off their day with. It’s one small thing I can do for them. If I can cheer them up a little, then it’s mission accomplished.
So, Happy New Year, and may 2020 bring you and yours nothing but good days.