Remember this kid?
Well the other day he made me laugh harder than I have ever laughed before at school.
Probably once a week, the smell of natural gas drifts into my classroom. It happens when the windows are open, which will likely be all the time now that it's warm outside and our building's not air conditioned. The first time I smelled the gas last fall, I panicked and figured we'd have to evacuate the building. Upon calling the office, however, I was assured that this happened all the time and it wasn't anything to worry about. So it's been going on all year long and the kids know it's not really a reason to worry.
One day last week the smell came wafting through the room toward the end of one of my classes.
This boy was up blowing his nose and said to me: "Haven't you heard, Mrs. Stockton? If you smell natural gas, get out fast!" To which I replied: "This happens all the time and you know it. Finish what you're doing and go sit down."
I kid you not, the following is what came out of this kid's mouth, word for word:
"Mrs. Stockton. If this building blows up, we're all gonna die. And...you'll die too! Then, when you're in heaven, you gonna be gettin' lectured...by the Lord!"
It was one of those moments that, as it happens, you know it's going to become a story you tell over and over because it's just. so. funny. I could not hold it together and keep myself from laughing, so I just cracked up. The best part is - I absolutely agree with him. If my negligence caused my students to die in a gas fire, I would fully expect to be lectured by the Lord. Wouldn't you?