Getting to know all about you...

After getting flooded daily with questions from my sweet little kiddos about my personal life: family, friends, pets, where I live, roommate, Tennessee, etc. I decided to make a "Get To Know Me" poster to put up by my desk with pictures. It included pictures of my friends, family, and pictures of me when I was little. The day I brought it in, you would have thought I'd brought them all cupcakes. They were beyond ecstatic and almost tackled me to see the pictures.

I thought I would just tape it up for them to see at their leisure. Oh no. My teacher asked me to present it in the morning at carpet time. I pointed out my parents, brothers, future sister-in-law, and dog. They wanted names, ages, and details about each person. They now ask on a daily basis about my brother's wedding, my little brother's high school sports, and my dog's oh so thrilling life. After giving a brief explanation of each picture and who was who, I made the mistake (but so glad I did) of opening the floor for questions. In 2nd grade one of the big skills is learning how to ask questions and expanding their knowledge through inquiry. Needless to say, they're mastering the skill. These questions, of course, turned into comments. To some of them I could respond, others I stored away in my memory to smile at later. Please enjoy...questions and comments about Miss McKinney's life:

"Are your brothers twins? Why weren't you a boy too?"

How did Daniel and Krista meet? Why aren't you getting married like your brother?"

"Does your Mom like Krista? If she gets to be a sister doesn't your mom have to like her?"

"Why doesn't David shave? He looks like a man."

"Is David going to play football for Auburn? Will he play Cam Newton's spot?"

"Can you bring Ralph tomorrow and let him spend the day with us?"

After explaining that Ralph is TN with my family, 5 hours away....

"Okay well you can just go get him Saturday and bring him Monday"

"How come both of your brothers' names start with 'D' and yours doesn't...?"

"Are your mom and dad in love?"

"Since you don't live with them anymore, is that because they didn't want you anymore?"

"Ms. McKinney, your skin was so dark in these pictures. Why are you so pale now? Did you get a spray tan?"

After the comment about my skin, my teacher remarked "You have that great olive skin"...I knew as soon as it came out of her mouth they were going to be confused..."Does that mean your body has olives in it?"

"Does Tennessee have a beach?"

(Pointing to a picture of me in Kindergarten) "Do you still wear that sweater? Was that cute when you were little or were you not stylish then?"

(Again--Pointing to picture of me in Kindergarten) "I think you looked like a 'Fred' when you were little...what kind of haircut was that?!"

(Pointing to a picture of me and my friends) "Oh did ya'll go out on the town this night? You look all dressed up I bet ya'll went out!"

"Do you get your eyelashes done? You put that black brushy stuff on them don't you? Do you make the same face my mom does in the mirror?"
Sweet little boy raised his hand after that and shyly said "Well Ms. McKinney actually I think you have the most beautiful and longest eyelashes I ever saw" (umm hello precious angel!)

I saved the best for last...after I had wrapped up the little Q & A session on the carpet, I sent them back to their seats and taped up the poster next to my desk. A few minutes later I saw one of my favorite (yes, I do have a few, oops?) little boys standing in front of the poster pointing to each picture trying to rename all of the people. He then put his finger on my Kindergarten picture, and stared at it for a few long seconds with a tilted head. He was also the same one that made the comment about my bowl of a haircut and how I looked like a 'Fred'. He walked over to me and Mrs. E...

"It took me forever to figure out who Ms. McKinney looked like when she was little, but I think I remember now. You know that little girl that sang that song that goes like 'Monkeys and Crackers in my soup....dragons and lions scoop the loop!' Yeah I think her name is Shirley Temp! Yeah that's it. Ms. McKinney were you Shirley Temp?"

I wouldn't dare correct him. His attempt at the lyrics and his abbreviation of the name were far too great to fix. Holding my laughter back, I just smiled at him and said "You found out my secret, that was me!"

Not sure I see the resemblance...I'd say I'm lacking the ringlets. And I'm sure Shirley "Temp" didn't wear sweaters like mine.

Although I'm sure Miss Temple would be a lot easier to pronounce than Miss McKinney...