The first day

We made it. I say we because it really was a group experience. Here are a few quick reflections before I head to bed (yes, before 9pm)

I was a little concerned when we arrived at the bus stop today and was greeted by a fifth grade boy in a Harley Davidson t-shirt and high tops - I had flash backs of my fifth grade year - in 1985. I forgot that boys get a growth spurt around Samuel's age and then not one again until - oh maybe 9th grade. The 5th grade boy wasn't much bigger than Samuel but this kid's Billy Ray Cyrus mullet was for real. Y'all I really should have gotten a picture of this thing for ya - a full mullet.

We got to talking to this boy and a couple of other kids. One explained that he should be in 4th grade rather than 3rd but he failed kindergarten 3 times. His older brother corrected him and said he only failed twice and he failed once - you don't have to add them all together. Lucy thought that was the best thing ever - to spend three years in kindergarten!

Samuel's teacher's name is Mrs. Oslacky (pronounced Oh-Slack-ee). Samuel is having trouble with her name and keeps calling her Mrs. O-Sloppy. Hope that gets worked out soon :)

Samuel said he made friends, then corrected himself and said that he hadn't known any of them long enough to be friends but he did play "with the kid next to me, Nicolas and some girl - I don't know her name."

He was a little overwhelmed in the lunch room and said he only had 20 minutes to eat and that's why he didn't get to eat it all. Mama, there are so many kids I didn't know what to do.

Mama, all we did today was talk about rules. There are hundreds of rules - there are about, maybe, sixteen of them.

I gave him a secret mission to count how many people are in his class - he said "There are 17. There were supposed to be 19 but one moved away and we don't know about the other one - I hope she's ok."

"I really liked riding the bus but nobody sat next to me. That's ok, I'm new and nobody knows me yet."

OK - random things to remember but thought I would preserve them here.

PS - Day two at the bus stop - the mullet was gone (must have gotten his hair cut last night), another 1st grader came and I met a mom who grew up in the neighborhood and seems to know everyone. Much better outlook on things after we've gone through one day...but we're going to have to get Samuel up earlier in the morning so he can play before school - I think that will help.