School has started and all is right in our world, pretty much....
D loves kindergarten. He woke up on Tuesday (the 2nd day) and ran into our bathroom giggling, "I can't wait to go to school!" J and I are a little more skeptical, but we are working through it. We spent hours Monday night reading the Klein ISD handbook (J is all into contracts and law lately and wanted to go through every last point before signing the "I have read and accept the policies" form that was sent home. So we got schooled in What Defines a Firearm and Steroid Use and all sorts of other gems parents need to know. J is taking this all incredibly well for a Norwegian!!), scrutinizing the cafeteria menu (Jesus H- they call this healthy eating? One week included chicken fried steak with gravy, stuffed crust pizza and fish sticks. If D eats that I'll have to start sending him with antacids!!), and filling out forms that I have already filled out (ahem). I packed and re-packed meals and snacks, laid out clothes, left a note for the teacher saying we would be late on Wednesday for a dentist appointment (I got a phone call and an email verbally bitch slapping me for having my kid miss morning roll call- I forgot; they lose state money for daily enrollment if the kids come after 10:00am. Sheesh. Sorry, I am not switching their dentist appointment!)
And in all the madness I did notice some subtle changes occuring in our house. D is becoming more independent, and dare I say... a little more bossy? And M seems... a little lost.
We are transitioning, all of us.
D and M have always done everything together. I was a little worried having them so close together, and I am truly not bragging here- but D has never, ever been jealous. Thank goodness! I was always so concerned about his feelings and protecting him but right from the start he seemed to really enjoy his little brother and be thankful there was someone else around. I could not have done separate things with them if I tried because I was way too tired and busy, but I never needed to- they were happy together. M went to D's nursery at just 8 months so I could start my Masters, and D looked after his baby brother with pride. I still kept watch that my poor deprived first born was not secretly throwing balls at his brother's head in jealous rage, but he wasn't. He loved him. After 4 countries, many nurseries, travels and new experiences those 2 are pretty tight. This is the first time they have done "different" things.
And M does NOT like it. All summer he would say he didn't want D to go to school, or he needed a backpack and a lunchbox too, or he wanted to go to D's school as well, etc. etc. He had many questions about where he would be every day and where D would be- would they start out in the same class together at nursery? Would they see each other in the daytime? Could he visit D's school and ride the bus with him?
All that said he has done remarkably well, but I know it is hard on him to hear D's stories of a big new school where they do exciting things with exciting new people. D is also a bit braggy about all that he knows and can do now. M is trying desperately to keep up. M has always been so headstrong and confident, and now for the first time in his life I am doing a lot to protect his feelings and make sure he is secure and happy. It kind of pains me to see the boys go their own ways and do different things, but I know it is normal and healthy. If just a little bit sad.
Anyway, J and I were going over the List of Things Your Child Should Know Before Entering Kindergarten, and one of them was to recognize and identify colors. M heard us and sat down to draw his colors on paper and then told us what each one was. A few days later he told me he was in fact NOT in Pre-K like D was but instead is enrolled in "Kindergarten Readiness."
My Little Mr. Sassy got some wind taken out of his sails....
"... Are you upset little friend? Have you been lying awake worrying? Well, don't worry...I'm here. The flood waters will recede, the famine will end, the sun will shine tomorrow, and I will always be here to take care of you." -Charlie Brown to Snoopy
D made a crayon on his second day. I really got jacked up being an expat.... Oh Public School, How I Wish I Could Embrace You! Everything D brings home is so bland and blah and assembly line and even after 1 1/2 weeks we are starting to hear about test scores and test preparation and blah, blah, blah. 
"... Rivers know this: There is no hurry. We shall get there some day." -A. A. Milne
Here we are at the dentist. D has a cross bite on his right side and M has one on his left. Huh? D's is so severe we have been referred to a specialist.... braces, anyone? Oh, the joy.
We had one evening of rain! And actually it lasted well into the early morning. It wasn't enough to save our burnt up grass, but oh well. With the way our water bills have been increasing and the fact that we are going to lose a lot of the lawn anyway when the pool gets put in we have just let most of it go. (I'm sure our neighbors love us. Probably the only thing that has kept the nasty HOA letters out of the mailbox is the fact that we do have a voluntary watering ban on in our utilities district.) Some of our neighbors water their massive lawns every day. In this drought! I cannot imagine their water bills....
The boys went to yet another birthday party this past weekend. It was at an indoor play place that they have been dying to go to, and I really like the Mom whose son was having a party. She is newly divorced, back home living with her parents in our subdivision and trying to get into teaching as well. The party was nice and low key- one piece of pizza, homemade cupcakes, and lots of bouncing around. I seriously get overwhelmed by some of these sugar fest-National holiday-uber parties these days. Since they have moved to our neighborhood her son goes to school with D, and they both ride the bus together from nursery, and I love that they have each other to look out for. And as I am so often reminded these days- it is easy to get caught up in what I don't have (job-wise, ahem!) and it is nice to be around other people who are keeping it real too, for lack of a better expression. 
I got to have dinner with some old school friends from Aberdeen, Scotland. It's a treat to get dressed up and drive to Houston and to eat at a restaurant that J would think was totally impractical and out of our budget...
Last Sunday we went to La Porte to check out the San Jacinto monument and Battleship Texas. It was really hot but we had a good time! Plus, J did his Masters in Denmark and studied ships as part of his engineering, and since he was an officer in the Norwegian army this stuff was right up his alley.
"I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive
I came to win, to survive, to prosper, to rise
To fly..."
I'll get there....
No comments:
Post a Comment