Greetings, little childrens!

Well, we're halfway done with our week of in-service before school starts on the 27th. These first three days have been full of meetings, discussions, and seminars. Some have been good, some have been bad, some have been VERY good.

Today, one of the meetings involved signing up for before-school duty. I have been wanting to reclaim my crosswalk spot, because I really enjoyed it last year, and I absolutely HATED my experience the year before which was in the gym, supervising ALL of the 1st through 4th graders.

So in our meeting today, the administrator pointed out the sign-up sheet and described what morning duty entailed. She then turned specifically to look at me and said, "And it would be REALLY wonderful if you would consider taking your spot again out front, because nobody ever wants to do that and it's a really hard spot to fill."

So of course, I let out a deep, world-weary sigh and muttered, "Fine. If I HAVE to. Whatever."

No, I'm kidding. I was happy to volunteer for the spot once again. And then I volunteered Anonymous Joe to be my partner. I might have spoken out of turn there, so I'm sorry if you hadn't really wanted to volunteer, AJ.

So once again, starting this Monday, Anonymous Joe and I will be the first line of defense for our quaint little elementary school. Oh wait, I think they actually refer to us as first line of GREETING.

Hopefully, this year, more of the kids will actually be able to see me, as last year it often seemed that I was invisible. Kids would hop out of their cars, and I would say "Good Morning" to them. They would then run right past me and yell "Good Morning, Anonymous Joe!"

Granted, he IS the beloved art teacher who has been at the school for 87 years. And I'm just a hulking, scary guy in the storm trooper outfit. But still, it's always nice to be acknowledged.