Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Nine Days Name

Nine days in and I’ve got a nickname.
nearly as tall as that tree...
Now, since I’m teaching primary school, you might think a nickname is a bad thing. Especially after only nine days. I mean, when I was in school, nicknames included Mr Horrible and Mrs Grouch,  Monsieur Fartsalot and Senorita Scatterbrain. Man, I even had a Mrs Mad Scientist as a teacher. 

And then there are the nicknames you get from family and friends. My own moniker was (hem, is) bony butt. Thanks, parents and aunt.

Sometimes, though, nicknames are nicer, signalling a specific positive trait. Like Tall Girl.

They can be terms of endearment. Tall Guy calls me Gorrion (that means Sparrow).

And sometimes they’re about being accepted into a group, like my new nickname courtesy of my class of third-graders.

They call me Pine Treecher. Because they think I’m as tall as a pine tree. And they like me.

Sometimes a nickname can inspire and encourage you. Obviously, Pine Tree stems from (haha, get it?!) my height. But pine trees stand for (haha, I did it again!) creativity, longevity, energy and strength of character. Endurance and steadfastness. Tranquility. A reminder to seek heavenly rather than earthly treasures, a pointer to always reach higher and try harder.

Pine treecher.

It’s a lot to live up to, but I’ll try.

Tom Thompson's Jack Pine, The National Gallery of Canada
Pine Treecher.

I like it.

6 comments:

  1. Pine Treecher. That's pretty good. Especially from a Spanish grade 3 class. They have a good understanding of English!
    And "bony butt", yah, sorry :)

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    1. They ARE quite good at English, which was a very nice surprise. AND... they LIKE English class. Score!

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  2. Replies
    1. You would love them! They are really cute, and much easier to teach than our wild child classes...

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  3. "creativity, longevity, energy and strength of character. Endurance and steadfastness. Tranquility. A reminder to seek heavenly rather than earthly treasures, a pointer to always reach higher and try harder."

    Gosh, I love this :)

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    1. Me too! And when I'm having a tougher day at work, I can just think, "pine tree", and be reminded...

      Thanks for stopping by, Fiona!

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