kids say the warmest things...

'I HAAATE MS. OHHHHH!!!!' - anthony, after a series of disciplinary measures, resulting in a temporary expulsion from class (layman's terms: got kicked outta class after pushing the old bag's buttons one too many times).

' ms. oh, i'm sorry about what just happened...' - jaime, who, along w/the rest of the class, focused ALL their energies on pretending to work on their exams as silently as they could during the above escapade...

'ms. oh, you're a fun teacher. when i first came to 3rd grade, i didn't know much. now i know a lot.' - mercedes, during one of my saturday brunches w/my kids

'we're learning about each other...' - mercedes again, after i stopped myself from talking about school lessons, since we were just there (at coco's) to eat and have fun.

'i'm sorry, ms. oh. i didn't mean what i said...' - anthony, after cooling down in another classroom for 20 minutes.
*****
i have anger issues.
this year, it's called anthony.
he's been abandoned/rejected by his mother, who gave him to her sister to be raised because she 'doesn't get along' w/him. so he's being raised by his aunt while his brother is being raised by his mom, who i guess gets along w/his younger brother enough to keep him.

he's smart, w/a slight nasal speech impediment.
he's an aspiring astronaut, as staring into space is his primary function
he's as sweet as a bunny,
as quiet as a mouse (that you don't hear til you don't want to hear, then of course, it's all you hear...),
as stubborn as a mule,
and as odd as number 3 (i just made that up!).

he's my headache and my heartache
he's in my line of vision (sits in front of my station - at my school, we have teacher stations made equipment-friendly instead of desks)
he's in my range of hearing (front and center when we're on the rug)
i just hope he's within my reach within this year, or at least within his memory, if time comes to pass.
*****
'you're pretty...' - unknown student walking by me in the hall. :)

(alright, so she was a special ed student...they're the most honest!)