I almost didn’t write a weigh-in update this month. Why bother, right?
The thing is, the first part of the month was actually pretty OK. It was the last part of the month when things went to shit, and I felt like I’d lost any and all progress I’d made. Overall, with the awesomeness of the first half and the suckiness of the second half, August averaged out to be… not quite a wash… maybe an improvement with a hiccup?
My phone buzzed me awake at 5:48am. I didn’t know the number, but it was local. I declined the call and tried to get back to sleep for awhile before my real alarm would wake me up.
I figured it was Connor’s school announcing a fog delay, but I checked my voicemail to be sure (in the bathroom, so as not to wake my sleeping husband). Yep. Voicemail, text, and email all said the same thing.
I sort of drifted back to sleep before my alarm went off and the morning routine began. Connor, as usual, met me in the bathroom while I was getting ready. I explained the Extended Time program and fog delays to him as best as I could at 7am.
Once we were dressed, teeth brushed, breakfast eaten, and (in my case) coffee ready, we headed out.
It took some cajoling, but we finally got some details out of Connor about his first few days of Kindergarten.
On Preview Day, he got to attend with just 7 kids out of the 20-some in his full class, to start getting the hang of things. It sounds like he went to three out of his five “special” classes: Computers, Gym, and Music. He’s certainly my boy: after telling me that, in Computers, he got to use a mouse and wear headphones, he admitted that he just kinda looked around for the first minute at what everyone else was doing, to make sure he was doing the right thing.
I sent him 50¢ for milk that first day, before I put money on his charge account. It turns out that he was the only one in his Preview group who bought anything; everyone else packed and brought a juice box. (The lunch monitor helped him open his milk.) He and his new friend A really hit it off at lunch; Connor says A is as silly as he is. 🙂 They even had almost identical lunches: bologna sandwich, gogurt, and applesauce, although A had cookies for dessert and a juice box, and Connor had cherry tomatoes and a chocolate milk. For the rest of the week, Connor packed lunch and bought milk (rotating through chocolate, strawberry, and plain), and bought lunch on Pizza Friday. He even got to have a slushie with his pizza!
Since we live in the future, we’ve been able to get feedback on how Connor’s adjusting to the classroom. The ClassDojo app lets us see when Connor gets credit for raising his hand or following directions quickly, and the teacher can message parents privately (and vise versa). The “points” Connor gets can spur conversations about the day, which is honestly my favorite part so far. It makes me feel less helicoptery and more able to engage him about what happened at school that day. For example, one day, he got a point for Making Smart Choices because he told on a kid who kept throwing mulch in the toilet, even after Connor told him to stop.
The school bus route has been interesting, since a.) all the buses were overcrowded at first, and b.) we live on a busy two-lane road, so the bus driver straight-up told us that he couldn’t have Connor crossing in front of the bus by himself in the afternoon. (In the morning, Connor’s the first one on the bus, on our side of the street, so no worries there.) On that first day, Dad and I crossed the street to escort Connor off the bus. On the morning of the second day, the bus driver told me he had an idea of how to adjust the route to put him on the right side of the street, but we’d have to pick him up in the yard instead of the driveway, so the bus could turn left onto the road in front of our house. That would work, as long as the yard isn’t soggy or full of snow. The third day, the bus driver told me that Connor would be riding a different bus home in the afternoon, which started a flurry of phone calls and ClassDojo messages to confirm bus number and drop-off time. Since then, Dad has reported that the afternoon bus driver started out a little flustered, but she’s since figured out her bus route and has been getting Connor home a bit earlier (nearly a half hour sooner than that first day).
Overall, Connor has been seriously loving Kindergarten so far. He’s met new friends (and even remembered some of their names), gotten used to a new schedule and routine, tried new things (like buying lunch and riding the school bus), and even had some homework (retelling a story to Dad to confirm his reading comprehension).
His only blip so far was last night. I showed him a Facebook video of his preschool teacher’s toddler taking his first steps, and that made him remember how much he missed his friends at his old school.
“I’m sure James really misses me,” he lamented while I was massaging his feet last night. (James was one of his BFFs.)
Apart from that one moment of sadness, though, he’s been bubbling over with excitement every day. Granted, it’s only been a week… but I think this is going to be a good year.
I purchased the Brownie Twin 20 at Savers (a thrift store) for $4 two years ago, and discovered an ancient roll of Ansco black-and-white still loaded with only four or five exposures used. Unsurprisingly, the found photos didn’t come out, and neither did the photos I attempted to take on the remainder of the roll.
Finally, a year and a half later, I did a real test of the Twin 20! Back in February, I loaded it up with Ektar 100 speed, spooled onto a 620 spool.
Thing I learned about street photography today: Smile instead of being sneaky. Folks often don’t mind being photographed if you’re friendly.
Pushed my comfort zone w/ some street photography again today, this time with the Canon AE-1 w/50mm lens, loaded with CineStill 50 ISO film.
Back in December, I procured three pairs of eclipse glasses online, in preparation for the (partial) solar eclipse that happened this past Monday.
It just so happened that the day of the eclipse was also my son’s last day of Pre-K. I sent one pair to school with him, in the hopes that his teacher would be willing to let him look at the eclipse during or after naptime; I brought one pair with me to work; and I left one pair at home for my husband.
Around 2pm, I headed outside.
I texted my husband at home, who also donned his eclipse glasses.
As it turned out, my son also got to check out the eclipse at Pre-K. Not only that, but he insisted on sharing his glasses with his classmates and teachers, so everyone got to enjoy the eclipse!
Alas, I didn’t have my photography equipment with me (and I didn’t have a proper filter for eclipse photography, anyway), and putting the eclipse glasses in front of my iPhone camera just didn’t cut it. But! One of the videos I took of my view of the eclipse had a bonus eclipse-shaped lens flare at the end.
Even though I wasn’t in the path of totality, that was still WAY cool to see.
Come April 2024, for the next solar eclipse in America, my city will be in the path of totality — and my son will be finishing up sixth grade, if I’ve done my math right. Unless I make plans to pick him up from school, or his Junior High has an after-school eclipse-viewing party, chances are that he’d be on the bus on the way home during totality. One way or another, though, he’ll see it… and I’ll send him to school with the same eclipse glasses he took to his Pre-K class so many years before.
Dad got up early especially to see Connor off on his first day of school, and Mom came home early from work to be there when Connor came home.
Connor had a great first day! No tears, no anxiety, nothing but happiness and excitement all around (parents included).
The countdowns are over. At Pre-K, Connor’s had his last Treasure Day, his last Swim Day, his last Show and Tell, his last Bike Day, and his very last day of Pre-K. (Since he only goes to Pre-K four days a week, he’s had his last Daddy Day at home, too.) We’ve given the teachers their thank-you cards and gifts, I’ve turned in my keycard, and we’ve driven out of the parking lot for the last time.
At his new elementary school, we’ve attended Kickoff Day, Open House, and our Kindergarten Conference. He has his bus schedule, his lanyard (for that first nervous week of finding his classroom before school and finding his bus after school), and his three-ring binder that he’ll bring home every night. The vague feeling of an impending sea change has given way to the age-old newness and excitement of the first day of school.
I can completely understand how parents of kids who haven’t attended preschool (or even daycare) can turn into a blubbering mess when sending their child off on the school bus to new, solo adventures. Connor’s been spending time away from home for at least a few days a week ever since he was a toddler — he’s been attending the same daycare/preschool for over four years. That’s allowed us a slow transition from getting daily updates on paper about all the minutiae (and I mean all, including the contents of his diapers) to getting a general whiteboard update about what the class did that day. I’d still drop him off and pick him up in person every day, though, and talk to his teacher face to face at least once.
Technology has made it so that we’ll get a peek into the classroom via our iPhones, but that represents yet another transition for all of us. It’s all about our son becoming his own independent person — and, honestly, when I think about it, there are lots of things that I did or said or that happened to me at school over the years that my Mom never knew about.
It’s just fascinating to be on the other side of these memories.
No long shots of well-manicured gardens this month; I’ve been slacking on weeding and maintenance, as often happens at the end of summer. So, without additional comment, here is what’s blooming in my Zone 6 garden this month.
