Well, today is the day my students found out. My original plan had been to tell them just before Christmas break, but they always seem to find a way to ruin plans. It was seventh period and I was walking past a group of girls who sit near my desk. One of the girls suddenly said, "Oooo, Miss! Did you hear what she just said?!" I said no and asked her what she meant. She continued, "She said that she thinks you're pregnant because you're sick and you're always wearing those flowy shirts!"
Darn it! This wasn't supposed to come out yet! And who is she to notice all my "flowy shirts"? For her information, I was only wearing those to cover my stomach - which, sadly, had nothing to do with pregnancy at that time...lol.
Now, the way I read the Bible, lying for any reason is wrong, so I try my best not to, even in situations like this. My wheels in my mind started turning, trying to come up with some explanation that wasn't a lie but wasn't quite the truth either. Something like, "Ha, I wish!" which is technically true. I do wish it, even though my wish has come true already. But I took too long. I managed to let out a little laugh as I sat down in my chair. (Maybe if I ignore them they'll drop it?) And then they pounced. Four or five of them jumped up and surrounded me. "Oh my gosh, are you pregnant?!!" I guess I started smiling (come on, I had just found out myself...I was still giddy), and I could feel myself blushing. I mean, beet red. My cheeks were so hot that I didn't even have to answer. They took my physical signs and ran with them. They turned around and announced to the whole class, "Hey yall, Mrs. Hooker's pregnant!!!" Gasps and cheers and questions filled the air. One student wanted to confirm, "Miss, is it true?" I just nodded and smiled sheepishly. Well, there goes the secret.
I went to the front of the room and told them that I had wanted to wait until Christmas break to tell them. They asked me when I had found out, and I said it had been about a week and a half. They were angry that I hadn't told them sooner! (LOL, they're so self-consumed sometimes...) They complained that in my PowerPoint the first day of school I had said not to bug me about when I was going to have kids...that I would tell them when it happened. I explained that I was still going to tell them, but I wanted to wait until I was nearly out of my third trimester just in case "anything happened." This sobered them up quite a bit. Then one kid yells from the back of the room, "Geez, Miss...way to be a downer!" We all laughed and that was about it. I asked them not to tell anyone until Christmas break, and they all promised to keep my secret.
I went home that night and realized I'd have to be an idiot to trust 30 tenth-graders to keep something under-wraps for a month. I decided that I'd have to tell the rest of my students and colleagues the next day. So on Thursday, I had a PowerPoint slide up as the kids came into class. It said, "As we near Thanksgiving, think of all you have to be thankful about. Mrs. Hooker is thankful that..." and then I had this QR bar code that they needed to scan to find the answer.
Since all of my students knew, I figured the word would be spreading quickly, so I started telling my co-workers one by one as I saw them throughout the day. One of my colleagues hates me - who knows why - so I was waiting to tell her until I absolutely had to. (Usually she just stares at me with no response when I talk to her.) When I finally got up enough nerve, I said, "Hey _____, I just wanted to let you know that I'm pregnant" with a slight smile. She looked at me for a second and said, "Ok." I found out later that she leaned to another co-worker near her and whispered under her breath, "So?" Wow. So, everyone except 1 person was happy for me. :)
All of my students kept asking me if Lee was happy about it. At first this cracked me up. I was like "Of course he's happy about it!" Then I started seeing the sad reality behind the question - they see more unplanned, unwanted pregnancies than anything else. Well, kids, here's how you do it the right way. :)
And they do not understand the concept of development. Every day without ceasing, I get the question, "Miss, is it a boy or a girl?" Me: "You can't tell until at least 4 months sweetie." Next day, "Miss, is it a boy or a girl?" Me: "You can't tell until at least 4 months honey." And repeat. For what it's worth, they all think it's a boy. Only time will tell.
~Hooks
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