Every Party Has a Pooper

Sniff, Sniff

Sniff, Sniff

That's what I was doing today in my office at around ten thirty. I had my three first graders working with me, and every time I got near the boy (I'll call him N), I got a whiff of .... something.

The something turned out to be poop.

I waited patiently for another thirty minutes until their time was done and I sent the two girls back to class while I had a little chat with N.

Me: "Honey, are you wearing pull-ups?"
N: "Yeah..."
Me: "Did you go to the bathroom in them just now?"
N: [putting his head on the table] "Yeah..."
Me: "Why did mom send you to school in pull-ups?" (come on, he's eight!!)
N: "I don't know"
Me: [gently] "If you had to use the bathroom, why didn't you just ask? I always let you go when you ask..."
N: "I don't know"

This is the second time he's done this in two weeks. He doesn't say anything about it. He never even seems to be uncomfortable.

I had the teacher call mom and it just kills me that mom sees no connection between this sudden behavior and the latest turmoil in the family (new baby in the house from his teenage brother, dad moving away to basic training, you get the picture).

This same student gave me a panic attack not two hours later when he went missing. I've never lost a child in my teaching career and I didn't want today to be my first. At noon, he was sitting in the office, waiting for mom to bring him a change of clothes. At 12:45 I went to go pick him up from his classroom for his second time with me. His teacher just looked at me and said: "You mean he isn't with you? When I didn't see him in the office, I assumed you had him".

When I realized that his backpack was still in the classroom, that is when my heart started fluttering. Four staff members (including myself) armed with walkie-talkies searched high and low throughout the whole school building and grounds. I looked in every bathroom stall.... Finally about twenty scary minutes later someone had the bright idea to check the sign out sheet...

Sure enough, grandma didn't have any spare clothes, so she just took him home.

Note to self: when kids disappear, check the sign-out sheet first!