Random Fodder

Sebastian's first day of school was a success in every way! For the past couple nights, we have been trying to get Sebastian to bed earlier so he can wake up early enough to be ready for school without rushing. For a family that is usually awake at 11 p.m. and rarely up before 9 a.m., this is a feat in and of itself. Sebastian had trouble getting to sleep so early, and he tossed, turned, and complained to my wife for an hour and a half before finally settling in and falling asleep. This morning, however, Sebastian woke up with plenty of time to spare. To my surprise and dismay, he woke me up at 6 a.m., well before the alarm clock was scheduled to go off.

Sebastian and I got kicked out of the bedroom for talking too much while my wife and Dylan tried to sleep, so we moved to Sebastian's room to talk some more about school and other goings-on in Sebastian's life. I briefly attempted to pick out school clothes for Sebastian to wear on his first day of school. As a note, I knew for sure that the selected clothes would soon be vetoed by my wife as soon as they were noticed, so I skipped that all-too-familiar process and sent Sebastian to his mother for wardrobe selection duties. Sebastian and I went to the kitchen and casually prepared and ate some cereal.

By this time, my wife was up and awake and helped Sebastian with the details of getting ready. My wife also verbally gave him the obligatory list of "twenty things to remember on your first day of school when you can't even remember to bring your own backpack with you." The way that mothers check, recheck, and rerecheck things with kids on their first day of school reminds me of all the procedures that astronauts have to go through from the moment they start getting ready to the moment of liftoff, except instead of sending a thirty-something into outer space, you're sending a five-year-old a few blocks away.

I also marveled at the sight of my wife writing Sebastian's name inside each of his shoes. You just don't see that every day — but if you do see that every day, you might want to get that person checked for OCD.

Sebastian is increasingly excited about heading to Kindergarten, and today we went to school for his Kindergarten orientation.

Originally, we were told that Sebastian would have to walk to school, but it turns out that he is able to take the bus. This will obviously be advantageous during the winter — especially for me and my wife, who would have to walk (or drive) to and from the school. Now, we get to stand out in the freezing cold during the winter and run back into the warmth of our house after the bus picks him up.

On the way to orientation, I rode the bus with Sebastian. He will be one of the (if not the) first ones to be picked up in the morning. A couple kids who went to pre-K with him also ride his bus, but they are picked up much later in the route. He noted this rather casually, so I don't think he really knows these kids too well.

Sebastian was excited to find out last week that his best friend from pre-school will be in his class. The teacher who gave him his Kindergarten entrance test will be his teacher this year. He got along with her well during the testing, and he seemed comforted that he "knows" his teacher already.

Orientation only lasted about an hour and a half, most of which we spent in a parents' meeting, filling out forms and listening to people talking about the forms we were filling out. I did convince my wife to apply for a newly created "Health and Wellness" committee . . . and by "convince," I mean "place the application sheet in front of and point out one particular committee." I'm apprehensive about the PTO, but the admission is cheap, and they have plenty of fun-sounding activities. We'll see how this pans out.

Tomorrow is the big day. Pictures will hopefully be posted then! I'm glad that Sebastian gets to ride the bus instead of walking. After all, what is a first day of school without getting on the bus?