I had my first day of official recess monitor duty at Edward’s school. I volunteered for one day a week, doing the 3rd grade lunch recess. I was surprised at how excited Edward was that I was coming and how pleased he was to see me on the playground. He smiled at me throughout recess time as he wandered around with various groups of friends. It was a treat to watch him in his school environment - I was happy to see how well all of the kids seemed to play together, flowing from one thing to the next, groups of kids merging, disbanding, merging into other groups like schools of fish. Loud, loud fish.

Twice I walked kids to the nurse’s office - one for a banged knee and bruised feelings, the other for a scraped elbow. I tried to get Scraped Elbow Girl’s mind off her wound by engaging her in conversation about her horse-festooned pants, but she was too upset… or thought me too hopelessly dull to respond. Banged Knee Boy, who approached me himself, was a little more willing to speak with me.

It was a tad odd being the one the kids came to, all because (a) I am a grown-up and (b) I was wearing a neon orange vest. Instant authority was granted me. Yet as I watched the three paid paraprofessionals (huh?), who had decades of teaching experience between them, line up the classes to go in for lunch, I knew I was but a mere amateur. Third graders still seem to have some desire to please adults and to follow rules. But you can see it coming in the squirms and playful shoving, you can hear it coming in the whispers to friends in adjacent lines….

For now though, I am cool enough to my son that he is not embarrassed to acknowledge me (or to ask me to hold his Webkinz) in front of some 130 classmates. I’m savoring it, knowing it won’t last forever.