First full day of school for daddy's little princess today.
Yesterday was the "Parent's Social" at the school - meet the teacher, see the classroom, let the kids take a 10 minute bus ride around town to get used to it. Took ½ day off, met Mrs. G. and BabyGirl G. at the school. It was interesting to see a good number of dads present; it was also interesting to see just how many people I knew from Scouts...
But today was The Big Day. BabyGirl G. was getting on the big yellow bus all by herself. Well, no. Her big brother (he of the sink-peeing ilk) will be there to help her adjust to life as a "big girl" (her words), both on the school bus (which, thankfully, is driven by a family friend this year) and in the halls of her new school (he's promised to walk her to class "until she knows the way").
Sometimes they're so grown-up they scare me.
This morning proceeded unusually well for the first real day back. They both woke up without having to resort to the fire hose; they both got dressed without the need for cattle prods; they even managed to consume mass quantities of breakfast without the need for coaching today. Got the backpacks ready (BabyGirl G.'s backpack is nearly bigger than she is!), even had time to grab the gloves and a baseball to toss around at the bus stop.
Who are these children, and what have they done with the little hellions who tore my house apart all summer?
Get to the bus stop a good 10 minutes before the bus comes. We've got lots of time to toss the ball back and forth (and yes, BabyGirl G. was included, complete with her pink glove...); we talk to the other kids and parents at the stop; many discussions on the new teachers (apparently the boy got a "good" - read: easy - teacher); etc. Bus was even on time, got both kids loaded in, and it's off to work. Even got to drive in relatively unscathed - our district is one of only a small handful that went back before Labor Day, so once I got outta Dodge it was pretty smooth sailing.
And it will be like this for the next 4 years... After that, #1 Son goes off to... [cue ominous music] Middle School... Holy crap. How did I get this old??? When did I transform into... Suburban Dad Man! Some folks are born to greatness. The rest of us just make shit up as we go along...
That is all.
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4 comments:
We had a milestone last week, albeit a negative one. We pulled my daughter (middle school) off the bus, completely. She actually came to us (a VERY good sign) complaining of the foul language that the 8th graders & some of the high schoolers were using on the bus. The last straw was when the rowdiest kid (total loser & the epitome of white trash) was arrested on the bus. Not a typo - the kid cusses out the driver in front of everyone. Needless to say, my little girl was rattled.
So, I now pick her up & she sits in my office for an hour doing her homework before we head home. Yeah, very bad sign about the bus. Good sign that her teachers seem to be good, thus far. Great sign that she felt uncomfortable around a bad element.
Sigh....public schools.
"Who are these children, and what have they done with the little hellions who tore my house apart all summer?"
Wait until they hit their teens...
"When did I transform into... Suburban Dad Man!"
Sounds like someone needs some private time on the bike ...
;-)
Ricky,
Urgh. I am not looking forward to that in the least. Middle school is going to pose an interesting challenge for us, as the drop-off is about an hour and a half before the elementary school pick-up (and, of course, the same applies in reverse at pick-up). For two years, we'll have one @ each school, meaning that mornings will be a unique hell of shuffling kids around...
Which, of course, you are well-aware of... I can't imagine tossing this kind of crap in with the mix...
At least, as you point out, your daughter both wanted to get away from the behavior as well as was comfortable enough talking to you about it. That's a plus...
Thinkin' good thoughts for ya, brother...
bobg,
Yeah, I know. But at least then I can put 'em to work as well...
ted,
srsly, dood, get out of my head... This may warrant a post all its own...
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