Sometimes I fall.

Yesterday in Spanish 1 we started Chapter 3. We learn how to tell time in Chapter 3 and in order for me to teach time I created about 35 paper plate clocks nearly 5 years ago. I use the clocks for less than 1 week every single year and sorting out where to store them for the remaining 51 weeks has proved bothersome. This became quite evident again this morning.

I arrived at school today by 7:05 and promptly started to tear my classroom apart Looking high and low for these stupid clocks. I even emailed another teacher and asked if he had them. He did not. I remembered Seeing the clocks but dagnabbit I could not FIND them.

Things were looking bleak when I finally decided to climb on a small table in order to see above a cabinet. I think I stored the clocks up There last year, didn't I? The clocks weren't there and then I was faced with getting Off the table. And that's when something went terribly wrong.

I put one leg down but it didn't quite make it and who knows what happened to the other leg? All I remember is hitting my head against the metal frame of the door and suddenly I was off the table. I sat in a desk and rubbed my head for a bit and tried to blink out the pain. I promptly got up and went about my business of redesigning my lesson plans for the day sans paper plate clocks.

An hour later school started. 15 minutes into the school day I could feel the headache coming on and I must have started acting funny because my Homeroom kids said as much. "Miss Nienhuis, you need to go to the Health Clinic. You are not acting like yourself." The bell rang for Homeroom to leave and 1st hour to begin. I stood in the hallway and yelled at Mr. Jennings, "Hey Jennings! My head is really starting to hurt now! I mean it!" My neighbor said she could sub for the hour while I went downstairs to the health clinic.

The clinic quickly determined that I would have to go to the ER. When they asked me to fill out a form I could barely hold the pen and I could not focus on the form. I gave it back to them and said as much, "I can't do this right now." And then I started to feel very, very nauseous. Later I learned that the inability to concentrate is one of the signs of a concussion.

A school secretary was sequestered to drop me off at the ER at Butterworth. It was soon determined that I have a concussion and I was not allowed to drive home or be alone for the remainder of the day. I also had to get a tetanus shot because my head met with a metal frame. Our head Principal returned to the ER to fetch me and to make sure I was okay.

Luckily for me, Deb and Mom were shopping at Babies-R-Us this morning and were able to meet me back at Creston at noon and take me AND my car home. Then my Mom, The Saint, stayed with me until 8 p.m. and babysat me. I felt funny the entire day - off center, hard to concentrate, and extremely nauseous. Having Mom there made me feel safe, just in case.

I should tell you that I did, eventually, find the paper plates in a spot that I searched thru at least 4x this morning. It took a knock on the head for me to see them! Ha! Guess what I'm teaching Monday morning?!