Like It Is

I teach K-12 ELL (bilingual) kids. I have the polar extremes in age every day. Today I went to visit my first graders. They are notorious for telling me like it is. I had awakened later this morning, showered, and pulled my hair back in a pony tail, not my usual school-hair look. It has been a windy, cold day on the Nebraska prairie, and I have been in and out of my car and schools a few times today. One of my little students says,

S: Mrs. Brewer, why does your hair look like that?
Me: (I smile and try to swallow a laugh). It was windy. I just pulled my hair back today. Do you like it?
S: You should take a shower and fix your hair like this. (She shows me.)
Me: I did take a shower, but thanks....

Here are comments for me from other days:

S: Mrs. Brewer, why are your teeth yellow? My teeth are white.
Me: Aaah, I've been eating too much chocolate? Or if I were a polar bear, I'd eaten too many seals.

S: Mrs. Brewer, why is your tummy fat and mine isn't?
Me: Well, you look just right the way you are. (I better go to the Y tonight...)

S: Mrs. Brewer, why do you have white spots (referring to my vitiligo on my hands and arms)?
Me: Yes, I have spots - kind of like a giraffe or a Dalmation dog has spots. (She looks at me wide-eyed. Certainly, a great truth I had shared with her...)
S: Or a cow?
Me: Yes, or like a cow... (I know I should have given her my medical condition, but I think she'll relate to the animal theory better.)