What ARE you?

Third in a series of guest posts from current and former parents of the Cooperative School. These were written as part of a fundraising campaign by our Development Committee. The posts are treasures, each one. This one was written by Rita Mortellaro. She describes the special bond the Water's Edge team made the year her daughter went to school. There are 5 groups in our prekindergarten class...Clay, Rain, Gray Mist, Sandstone, and of course, Water's Edge.

"It would be a lovely story if I told you that the other day I was wandering through the forest with the Water’s Edge Team of Old – many years ago, at least two, probably more – the Water’s Edge fight song echoing through the trees when we came upon the carcass of a fox. Lovely in the Lesley sense as there was a carcass. Lovely in the rest of the world sense in that we were all together and stumbled upon a fascinating something and, being alum of The Cooperative School, we had to explore it.

The truth is that someone else pointed out the carcass, but we did have to explore it. I poked it while the Water’s Edge looked on, grossed out and fascinated.  Then, naturally, I put it in bleach to clean it.   The more horrified of the team then went off in search of more carcasses.  The younger brother, never a Track himself except honorarily, stopped by every 15 minutes or so, saying he needed to "check on the carcass."

There were others involved, neighbors.  Squatting next to me as I manipulated the jawbone and poked at the eye sockets, pointing out that it was a predator because its eyes were in the front of its head, one of the neighbors asked, “What are you?”  I am asked this a lot.  But what she meant was what do I do for a living.  I teach English, but that didn’t seem like enough for her.

What am I?  What are we as members of the Water’s Edge team four years later?  Five, maybe?  I’ve lost track.  We are still friends, parents and Tracks alike.  We are curious.  We are explorers and adventurers.  We could just as easily be on the berm of the playground as in that backyard, stewing up small children and stumbling upon the fascinating somethings as we charge around school in our superhero capes."