My World, In Which I am a Rock Star

This week was the week of starting speech therapy at school, a week of scheduling, calling parents, attending meetings, organizing, meeting new students and saying, "Where did I put that?  It was right here on my desk a minute ago!" Crazy.  However, you know that I like my job and one of the most best parts of my job is that I am famous, at least at school and especially among the younger students.  Even older students are amazed when they see me at the grocery store, in public, outside of a school, apparently unsupervised.

Often, when I enter a PreK or Kindergarten classroom, my regular students are excited to see me.  I’m peppered with questions like, “Do you have me today?” or more often, "You have me today?"  Students, who are not in speech therapy, beg, “Can you see me? Can you see me?”  Of course, my regular students have some kind of speech and language delay and I have no way to explain the difference to the other students, who do not have delays.  I usually just say to them, “Not today!”

So this week, I worked with 3 little ones in their class for the first time this year, all who had been in speech therapy with me last year.  In different ways, they were all excited.  One laughed and laughed, giddy with the reunion.  Another said, “I played this in your room.”  The third was happy when I praised his efforts.  It was a fun session.  I can only hope they will be this pleased with me throughout the whole school year.  (I promise you, there will be a day when the honeymoon/reunion is over). They followed my every direction, completed every task.   I felt like a rock star!  Famous!  And it’s often like this.  I love my job. 

Screech…halt!   Uh oh.  Now I’m remembering the day before with the tiny little one who cried the whole session we were together.  This is very unusual.  Children don’t often cry with me.  After all, the whole session is like a play session, with wonderful toys, new to the child.   Usually, between ignoring crying behavior and my own personal charm, I can engage the most frustrated child and make him or her forget he wants to go see his mama.  Not this time.  Apparently, I had no charm, but this time I was still a rock star.  Alice Cooper…in the middle of a concert…on Halloween night...in front of a four year old.  Not a fun place to be.