Sometimes, I am so cool that Canadian winters are simply no match for me. There are days when I can blow smoke rings with my coolness. Today, I surpassed all my previous cool records without looking back.

Friday afternoons are wonderful because I have a double period art class that runs from 1:00-3:20 p.m. I can’t think of a better class to end the week with, really, and it’s generally a relaxed and hardworking group. As part of my usual procedure, I was showing an example of the painting project we started working toward today. There I was, discussing complementary colours and creating an active surface on the paper while holding up a sample, when the sheer exhaustion that is kicking my butt at the end of this long, long week and my daily ridiculous clumsiness joined forces.

I jabbed myself in the left eyeball with the corner of the sample painting.

Yes, it hurt like you wouldn’t believe (and it startled me too).

No, I did not swear, which was a Friday afternoon miracle, really.

The kids started giggling immediately, because I suppose it was a treat to see a teacher nearly lose an eye during a watercolour lesson. I cupped my eye socket and folded at the waist just a little. I breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth. I had to use the other hand to hold me up on the edge of the table when I started laughing.

A kid to my left piped up, “I can’t believe you actually just did that!” Nope. Me neither. Yet some how it makes perfect sense, me being me and all.

Seriously, I hope the kids don’t go home and tell their parents about all the ridiculous things I manage to do in a week. Those poor parents must think some sort of incompetent woman teaches their kids.

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