Tuesday, September 16, 2008

The First Day of School



My mom has pictures of me and my brothers on every first day of school until high school, each of us dressed in stiff clothing standing by the flagpole in our front yard directly beneath the flying flag. It used to be a ritual, and like all terrified people, my brothers and I endured anything we were told to do on those days.

It's different now. I can't imagine taking pictures of the two rumpled saggy-pants boys at my breakfast table. My boys began school last week, rolled out of bed bleary eyed, and asked why I didn't homeschool them. They ask this on a fairly regular basis,and once I remind them that I would also make them read and write at home, they stop asking. There was no terror, just annoyance that they were up at 6 a.m.

My daughter began school yesterday. Emma is a lot like her brothers (eccentric), but she is also a lot more expressive. She has no fears of adults or of expressing herself so she spends a lot of time talking and writing (wonder who that's like...) So yesterday, when all the buses drove up in the afternoon, and all the moms had wonderful first day stories (She talked about her iguana/trip to Maine/first prize in the camp talent show), Emma's bus driver had a slightly different account.

Mr.G, a really patient, kindly man, was her driver last year, and since she's one of the smallest kids on the bus, he keeps her right up by his seat. When he turned right on the homebound route after a year of turning left, Emma protested by saying: "Oh, boy, where are we going?" When he explained they had a few new kids on the bus and the route was slightly longer now, she responded by saying, "Oh, that's good. I thought maybe you were going to kidnap me, take me into the woods and eat my organs."

I think it's going to be a long year.

7 comments:

Jacqui said...

Ha! I think our daughters would get along...

Marcia said...

First, I laughed at the bus picture. Then I howled at your daughter's line. That man's going to have a story to tell for a long time.

Tabitha said...

LOL!! I just love the things kids say. :)

Anonymous said...

Love the school bus picture!
Kids are so darn honest and funny! Good story for you and the bus driver for years to come!
Kelly

Brenda said...

You are going to have your hands full (if you don't already)...grin...and I bet that bus driver is already thinking what a long school year this is going to be...grin...

lilfix (blueboards)

Anne Spollen said...

Yes, I know what all you guys are saying, and it's probably true. Emma is a really expressive kid, and with two older siblings and their friends in the house, she is a really unusual kid.

The bus driver is wonderful -- aren't all the folks who "get" your kid? He has a granddaughter similar to Emma and that really helps.

The only thing was he related this story in front of the moms who have their Halloween decorations up the Tuesday after Labor Day and wear ironed jeans just to pick their kids up -- ironing is illegal where I live now, and anyone who irons jeans...they had these frozen smiles on their faces (and was it me - or were they clutching their kids just a little closer after hearing Emma's question?)

Anonymous said...

Yes, the mothers with ironed jeans.
I've met them. If it's any help, I think I'd much rather hang around you and your little Emma than the ironed jeans moms.

-Kensey