Little Friend

"I need to talk to you, my little friend."

It was the librarian that had spoken and I looked around at the twenty first-graders that I had led into the library to see who she was addressing. They all stared back at me.

"Hello, little friend." She put her arm around me. "I need to talk to you."

I stood there. Frozen. And stared at her. We were in a room with twenty first-graders and I was the little friend? Still?? She must have caught the meaning in my eyes because then she stammered, "I mean... you're little. Not as little as these guys so I guess you're my little adult friend. Or big little friend. Or little big friend..."

Every once in a while I would love to freeze frame a portion of my day, look at it and say, "This is not my life."