Near Miss

There was a near miss in the classroom recently involving my student, my podium, and my morning cup of coffee. With a look of relief, my student says to me, "Mrs B-if I had spilled your coffee, would that've been a detention???"



My response: "No, darlin'. That would be death at dawn." Now that's a near miss...



Later that evening: I am lying in bed (think Greta Garbo)decompressing from a brutal day when murmuring voices infiltrate my semi-conscious state. So I listen more intently.... and I hear the earnest, questioning voice of lil brother followed by a rhythmic, authoritative adult voice....wt...??? Is there an adult in my house talking to my kid?!? As I swing into the living room, I see lil brother curled up with the computer intently conversing with a Yugi-oh tutorial (Japanese cartoon with a ga-billion collector's cards...sigh). And he is taking turns sharing his concerns and frustrations with the robot narrator. "But what if I don't have the right card? What do I do then...???" And the robot narrator continues its script nonplussed... Not sure if lil brother got his questions answered, but he seemed at peace being able to share his pressing concerns with the computer who seemed to be keeping up his end of the conversation. And I tip-toed back to my bedroom... another near miss averted.