The Things They Say

Last month my class did an art project with leaves. It is one of my favorite things to do each year. The student get a plastic bag to go outside and collect leaves. We get different sizes and shapes. After we have collected our leaves, we bring them inside, get some plain white paper and we trace the leaves with different colors. The results are always beautiful.

Yesterday while my students were doing individual activities, I had a chance to start clearing my desk. I never quite know what I will find. Incidentally, my bag of leaves were still there. Maxwell had offered to organize some papers for me. He was standing near the trash can so I handed Maxwell the bag and asked him to please throw away the leaves. It didn't seem like a big deal to me. Apparently, it was to him. He stopped, held his chest, looked at me very seriously and told me "Look, I am not a husband".

I guess I know who rakes the leaves in his family. I have to admit that it does fall into the husband job status, you know, rake the leaves, take out the trash, fix the toilets. It was so hard to not laugh and I was slightly taken back. I had never really thought about it that way but I was happy that Maxwell was starting to understand this concept.

"Your right, Maxwell," I responded simply.

I stood up and threw the leaves away myself. A few minutes passed. As if to console me with this devastating news, Maxwell walked by my desk and asked, "Are you okay?"