1 : Ground Zero
One day before school meant Open House. As we packed up all of Puck’s school supplies for the drive across town, Puck had some insight to share with me.
“Mom, I can’t believe I’m going to be in FIFTH GRADE next year! I mean, I still do child things! I’ll probably always do child things. Like, I’ll still always play, too. You know? Even though I’ll be in fifth grade, I’ll probably still be like that.”
He’s got a bit of his dad in him.
Open House. More like Open Madhouse. Not in a bad way. Just a little short of a circus. A grand reunion after eleven and a half weeks of summer break. And a lot of height comparisons. Puck was proud to still be one of the taller kids amongst his compadres, despite also being one of the youngest in his grade.
While Puck was busy with that competition, it didn’t take long for Heidi to find her favorite little man marching around the classroom like he owned the place. Next time I looked over at him, he was stationed on Heidi’s hip and about to take another tour of the other classrooms.
Meanwhile, Puck had found his desk stacked with textbooks and a welcome-to-4th-grade Blow Pop resting on the top, which immediately brought on a smile.
“YAY!!” his new teacher exclaimed, hurrying over for a hug. “This is so exciting!”
Things were off to a good start. Until Puck noticed the names on the other three desks in his quadrant.
“Uh, Mom? … I’m sitting with three GIRLS!”
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. For now, this was definitely a “lose” as far as Puck was concerned.
About an hour later, it was clearly time to go. I had already lost Puck for awhile to the dumpsters in the gym. Right back at it. And Heidi had run off to catch up with a conga line of 4th graders dancing through the lower hallway. When Puck rejoined us with an expired kitchen pot lid for a makeshift shield, we made our exit.
Meanwhile, in another part of the city, Carrie-Bri’s minor heart surgery had been a success. Francis – always sensitive to moments of this nature – filmed her following the procedure, speaking Arabic in a somewhat incoherent state, and then shared it with the sibling group chat. What are little brothers for, after all?