Once a teacher, always a teacher

I’ve started down a slippery slope. I’ve just accepted gifts under false pretenses.

          There I was in Staples yesterday, picking up a plastic file box for tax paperwork, a pack of gold and silver Sharpees for kids to sign in at our grandson’s Bar Mitzvah this weekend, and most important of all, a bag of dark chocolate bark with coconut.

          I stepped up to the register, handed over my Staples Teachers Rewards card, and the clerk gave me a knowing look.

          “Have we given you your goody pack yet?”

          (What on earth??)

          “Um, no.” Whatever it was, I knew I hadn’t received it.

         

          He whipped an envelope from beneath the counter, informing me that I would also receive 10% off my purchase.

          I’ve been retired since 2011, but I hadn’t invited Staples to the party so I guess they thought I was still in the trenches.

          I felt a little guilty as I left, but then I remembered all the money I've spent every September to prep my classroom and my students.

          The envelope turned out to only have a bunch of Staples coupons and half of a Post It notepad.

          And besides, the 10% off paid for my chocolate.