My heart (and waistline) swell with love

 I was sitting at my desk, after school, mapping out my lesson plans for next week (and catching up with Jimmy Fallon) when I realized that my pants were restricting my lung capacity...in fact, they were slowly but relentlessly sawing me in half. If only I had more comfortable clothes to wear, I thought wistfully when, all of a sudden, my eyes fell upon a discarded pile of "work-out clothes." Excited, I yelled, "Halla-eeka" which I can only presume was a mismatched concoction of Hallelujah and Eureka. I believe both terms more-than-adequately expressed my emotions. I quickly changed and then did an obligatory lap around the building to warn everyone from congratulating me on my renewed effort of becoming physically fit. Comfortably clad in my elastic-waist pants, I resumed work.

And then something else caught my eye. There on my shelf, in a place of honor, was a chocolate plaque, declaring me: "World's Best Teacher." Sure it was broken but that just made it all the more special as it allowed me to sneak in a quick lesson on "irony." Naturally, one of the many clowns who make up my class population couldn't resist insisting that the plaque couldn't be referring to me as there weren't any nuts in it! This little joke was rewarded with a lesson on "puns." My heart filled with warmth as I recalled the excitement of my student when she gave me this sweet gift. Then I decided it was time to fill my stomach with this sweet gift.

But then...something stopped me. First of all, it took a lot of energy to roll my chair over my discarded pants to reach the shelf.  As I kicked them out of the way, my mind suddenly began flashing back to the calorie-laden loads of love poured upon me by my pupils. And it happens so naturally. I was demonstrating how to order decimals when a mini-marshmallow was casually handed to me. "Was this on the floor," I asked before popping it into my mouth. During our read-aloud, a gummy worm dipped in chocolate pudding and then sprinkled with cookie "dirt" slithered over to me. I get to taste-try every new flavor of snack chip out there. This morning was a new one. A home-baked cookie arrived on my desk which was consumed with great gusto and then...to my surprise...another treat was delivered:  A single chicken wing. I fairly cackled with delight. The price of my pants ripping into me turns out to be quite small, I realized, as the currency of love in Room 24 is doled out in sacrificial snack payments. What is a diamond next to a limp bouquet of dandelions? Who needs a gift certificate to a five-star restaurant when you could get an assortment of fruit gummies that are still warm from being grasped in a 9-year-old's earnest fist? Ask my scale at home...these acts of love are worth their weight in gold!