I suppose she was around six years old when we began to notice her obsession with playing “school”. This girl would grab any passing adult, willing or unwilling, and coerce him or her into whatever school room she had devised. She had the props: whiteboard, markers, a makeshift desk or two, books and charts from The Dollar Tree. I would sigh and acquiesce. Those sparkling green eyes got to me every time. This was the game we played – I the eager student, she the overpowering “Miss Belle”, the teacher. The lessons were mostly made up of one digit math facts and reciting the alphabet. Students consisted of a teddy bear, a stuffed dog, and “Rose” the ever loving Grammy.
One day, perched between Teddy and Rex, Rose decided to liven things up a bit. She played dumb, really dumb. Miss Belle wrote the letter “A” on the white board and asked, “Now, Rose, what is this letter?”
“It’s a D, right, Miss Belle?”
“No, Rose, try again. Remember the song we learned?”
Rose decided to carry the game a little further. Putting on my best teddy bear voice, I said, “Miss Belle, I know the answer. It’s an A!!!”
“Now Teddy,” Miss Belle replied, “Be still. I need to work with Rose”.