Today was most certainly a mountainous Monday. And I'm here to say that no matter how many hours goes in to planning something important (be it a wedding or a rehearsal or a lesson or even a run), sometimes what is unplanned creates a spark that is so much better than what was originally intended. And so today, we were all a bit sluggish and sleepy in the heat of the Monday, and I could sense our souls were becoming a bit tired. Thus, my original introduction into a recount narrative became a narrative recount in real-time. 

Two minutes before teaching this said lesson, I ran down to the staff lounge, pulled out the Siracha sauce and sprinted back up into my classroom. We discussed the personal I, setting, characters and past tense. I told them all: "In just a few minutes...this will all be over." I squirted a giant puddle of siracha onto the back of my hand and just slurped it all up with my tongue. A few of my kids muttered, "Uh oh." There was silence. 

I really don't enjoy Siracha. And so I began to sweat pretty hard, and I lay down on the ground as if I was dying, took a couple of laps around the classroom and said, "In two minutes, I'm allowing myself to drink water." They just watched as I paced, and I sweated, and I dropped down to the carpet. Nothing like motivation and mustache sweat to get the personal narrative lesson rolling. I looked up at the clock. Gasped. Coughed. Closed my eyes. And then ran over to my sink to stick my tongue underneath the faucet. Good thing I didn't upchuck on the carpet. Definitely sensed a bit of heart-burn though. 

We tiptoed back to our seats, and I allowed the students to recount exactly what had happened. The eagnerness to write was simply unreal. Students who usually don't enjoy picking up a pencil were already on their fourth sentence by the time I had finished slurping my water. I walked around amazed. 

And I saw a title I just adored: "Fiery Dragon Breath" 

And I thought to myself, any day can become fiery indeed with just a little bit of Siracha and just the right amount of love.