I am beginning to think I was very deprived as a child. It’s not like I was a child during the depression or lived in a third world country, nothing that extreme. I just think I was far, far from being spoiled.

I teach 5th grade. It amazes me what these kids come to school in. Just the other day I saw a fourth grader with the cutest boots on! I’m a cool teacher, I talk to everyone, so I asked. “Where did you get those adorable boots?” She thought for a moment and then replied, “Oh, I think these are the ones my parents got for me in Paris.”  Jaw drop. Seriously?  My first thought was, I will never have those boots. My second thought was, how much did those things cost?! Of course, I’m assuming that every shop in Paris is a classy, upscale boutique with chocolates and sparkling water served to all ‘clients’, and there is no such thing as a French WalMart. Please don’t correct me if I’m wrong. I like my little fantasies.

I remember when my granny would come visit me from her tiny town on the res. Dear, sweet woman would always bring us a gift. It was usually from the WalMart down the street from our house. At the time, I was just happy to get a prize! Now I realize WalMart was a big awesome store for someone that lived where she did. When her town got a ‘Wallyworld’, they felt they had finally arrived. (they were wrong)

My class is educating me in many ways. I have a descendent from Scottish royalty, Venezuelan royalty, and an African diplomat. I have students that travel the world on school breaks, and students who bring foreign exchange students into their homes regularly. I could probably sit back and get a very rounded education from these kids. As long as they didn’t have to write anything…another topic there…

The good news is that these kids also like to share. They are constantly telling us about their travels, history, family lineage, and where they plan to travel next. As a child, our big trip was to Alamosa, Colorado. It was the one trip we took where we weren’t visiting family, we didn’t have to camp out, and nobody got sick in the car. I think my parents decided it was best to stop while we were ahead. It was our only trip.

Besides the worldly experiences of these kids, the big indicator of them being in a higher class than me is their diet. I literally had a student trying to steal my Avocado at lunch today. She was drooling and leaning and hinting like crazy. I didn’t fold. I actually pushed her out of the room and considered locking the door.

I don’t think I knew what an avocado was until I was married. If we were going to eat fancy, we had Chinese take out. Which always made us sick. But we kept going back for because…. I really don’t know why.

I can’t throw stones. My baby loves Avocado. She will eat one for dinner and be happy. I fully expect her to be a genius. After all, I teach the gifted kids and they all love avocados. It must be the magic food. Too bad it’s too late for me, thanks mom!

Cause I said so.

Photo: alamy