Thursday, September 20, 2007

Theo's First Day

Some things are so much easier if you are child number two. On Eli's first day of kindergarten we had to pretty much drag him out of the house. He is not given to tantrums (although there are a few epic ones in his past) - he's much more about passive resistance. On his first day at Expo he walked to the corner right across from the school. Then he sat down. Refused to budge. He didn't cry or scream- just did that jelly thing with his body so that it was impossible to pick him up. After a bit of reasoning we were able to persuade him to give it a try, and he ended up liking it ok.
Theo on the other hand. He has Eli's old teacher whom he has been in love with for 2 years. So on the first day of kindergarten Theo woke up at 7 am. He grabbed me and dragged me downstairs. He got out all the makings for his lunch and directed me through the process. Then I was rushed upstairs to help him get dressed. I am not exaggerating when I say that by 7:18 he was fed, packed, dressed, and at the front door with his backpack on. I had to break the bad news that Expo did not start for nearly two hours. His shoulders slooped a little bit, then he asked, "Are we talking about the long hours or the short hours here?" Definitely the long ones... But somehow we made it through them and off he went. He has not looked back.
(For the record- Eli only held his Gandhi-esque protest for kindergarten and first grade. This year he marched right in- but it is harder being the groundbreaker.)

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