The warm sun shone down upon me, my head bobbing. Life as a plastic solar powered owl isn’t hard but it never gets boring. From my perch on the window sill in the 8th grade classroom I can see and listen to many things.
Every day I hear around eighty different students read excerpts from books and evolve in their learning. Every once in a while, I hear the teacher decree that everyone sit down and be quiet so they aren’t disrupting others. A few of these humans even pick me up and I get to look into their wondering faces. I do wish they’d be gentle on my neck! It gets a bit stiff.
As the students learn, I learn. When the teacher took me out of my box and pulled off the wrapping I was just a silly little owl. I might have even been a bit churlish, my head spinning as she carried me to my new home. I knew nothing of the world then and how it works. Since that fateful day, I have been moved around a bit and I have learned new things each day.
This week we were learning about spelling words. I learned that bonanza means “something very valuable”. Before I had only heard it in terms of a restaurant! I am truly living up to that old adage about the wise old owl that lived in the oak. I just don’t live in an oak. Yet.
The view from where I am is wonderful too. I feel as though I am hovering far, far above the parking lot. When my head swivels to the left I can see the little humans in gym class. I can see them collaborate and form strategies. When my head swivels to the right I can see band members cleaning out their instruments so they can play better. This way they won’t sound discordant when playing for an audience and they can get a big plaudit!
There’s a ring of a bell and I hear a rustle of papers and the sound of books snapping shut. When my head swivels to the left I can see the humans putting their binders back on the shelf. Within moments there is silence, only muffled sounds emitting from the hall and kids start streaming from the doors far below.
I know that I only have a few hours to go until the sun fades. When it does, my neck swiveling will slow until finally, my big eyes are fixated on a single point far in the distance. The life inside me will a fade a bit, allowing me to rest.
Even though I may be still, I am still thinking, in a laggard kind of state. I know that when the first rays of sunlight peek over the rooftops and trees to the east, I will awaken, energized and ready for a new day at hand.