It's sort of a funny story. Now.

So, yesterday was the day when our contracts at the school were either to be renewed or not. We were basically all going to find out if we had been fired.I was, honestly, feeling pretty good about my situation going into the day. I really feel like I’ve done a good job this year, and I’ve gotten good feedback from everyone.

Nevertheless, a lot of rumors had been going around for a while about who was (and wasn’t) going to be asked back, and so everyone was slightly on edge all day.

At lunch, I ate in the faculty lounge, and the veteran teachers, of course, were talking about the board meeting that evening that would determine everyone’s fate.

One teacher made the following comment: “We should all be safe. Y’all know that you’re only in trouble if they ask you to attend the board meeting without giving you a reason for coming. That’s when you know to worry. None of us has been asked, so we don’t need to worry.”

That made me feel better, even though I’d never really felt bad about my situation before.

But then, I walked out into the hall from lunch. The principal was standing there and said, “Mr. Pierce, we might have some questions for you tonight at the board meeting. You need to be there. 6:30.”

Yeah, I got nervous real quick then. My intestines tied up, and it felt like I was growing a second pancreas down there or something.

It wasn’t a good afternoon at all. I started imagining the horribly mean things I would say when I was let go. They were definitely making a mistake.

So, I waited around until 6:30 and walked slowly over to the administration office. Along the way, I had to walk under a ladder where I was attacked by a black cat. I waited and waited for them to finish the formalities so that I’d know how poorly my future was going to turn out.

And then they gave me an award.

Yep. That’s why I was there. That’s why they were so secretive. I was school/staff person of the month.

I'm glad I got the award, but I think I'm definitely the only person who could receive it in that way.