Having taught middle school for my entire career, I quickly learned to embrace humor (and to grow a thick skin — but that’s a story for another time).

One of the benefits of being a long-time classroom teacher was the opportunity to mentor up-and-coming teaching candidates. One of my favorite student teachers was coincidentally a former student. When she came to me as an eager student teacher, I knew that she had something special.

One of things that I most enjoyed about having her as a student teacher was her sense of humor. For example, she LOVES puns (much to the chagrin of middle schoolers). But she also found moments and opportunities to make me laugh as well.

The photo of the chill pills jar is just one example of her thoughtfulness and sense of humor. Because she had first-hand experience as both a middle school student in my world history class and as a fellow colleague, she likely witnessed plenty of times when I appeared stressed or frustrated. But she also knows just how much I love peanut M&Ms. So, imagine my surprise and delight when she presented this tasty and humorous gift!

I promptly and proudly displayed this chill pill jar on my desk. Besides making me smile each time I saw the “directions for use”, it also offered other opportunities for laughter because whenever my students saw me eat M&Ms from the jar, they would check in with me to see if I was “stressed, anxious, or frustrated.” And, how thoughtful and fun is that?