New school, new friends, new challenges…..
We enrolled Arlo in the bilingual program at the Montessori school in our neighborhood. There are 4 other kids; 3 Vietnamese and a little girl from Canada. The first day was rough. I was a big blubbering baby. Which of course did not instill confidence in Lo. He was teary but, trying hard to be brave when I left.
When we picked him up in the afternoon his eyes were red and he looked exhausted. He ran over and hugged me.”Rough day?” Zeb asked. “Yes” Arlo and I agreed. Zeb put his arms around our shoulders and said “the first day is always hard, but tomorrow will be better. Lets get some ice cream…” My thoughts exactly! (the ice cream part, not the “tomorrow will be better” part… I was already thinking tomorrow might be worse).
I peered over my double scoop at Zeb and thought about how much he’s matured this year and hoped his first day would go smoothly. On the way home Arlo had his own helpful advice to share with Zeb.. “You might want to cry a little because then they treat you extra nice….” Hmmm, good advice I might try that at Pilates.
The next morning Zeb woke early. He said he had butterflies but seemed excited, I on the other hand had bats. Which as I’m sure you can imagine, is much worse than butterflies. So, to make myself feel better I said I’d walk Zeb in and say hello to his teacher. As we opened the door I felt him tense up. All of these new and different faces looking up at him. Fighting back tears he started looking around. I knew he was sizing up the place. We were both looking for an escape. He inched towards the door. I knew I had to get out quick. I slid a chair between us and slipped out…..I didn’t look back. Once again I was a big baby….Is 8:00 am too early for ice cream??
The next few mornings were BAD. I won’t tell you about all the tears, threats and bribes in detail but, suffice to say it wasn’t pretty…..just ask the neighbors.
After the first week Zeb bravely overcame his nerves and with head held high he would wave goodbye and go into his class even on the morning he puked in the hallway…….
Arlo did great after his first day. He came home and declared that he “almost made a friend but ran out of time and will probably do it the next day.” Sure enough when I came to pick him up there he was arm and arm with his new friend. They headed for the play dough table, sat down and started chatting. Henri in Vietnamese and Arlo in English. Neither understood the other but they were smiling and having a great time. Another example of how “same same” we are! When it was time to go, Arlo said “bye”, and Henri said “tam biet”. I asked Arlo on the way home if he knew what Henri was saying he said “no, I just smile and he talks. He’s a lot of fun”
Seems there may be a romance blooming between Arlo and Ms. Canada. I’ll keep you posted!
By the end of the second week Zeb had settled in and is enjoying the new challenges. He’s made some friends and is even “lunching” with a boy from Italy on Saturday. (the boys mom asked me if they could “lunch together” because “they enjoy each other and lunching is fun”) Ah Italiano!
It’s super cool to see Zeb representing the US in his class of 14 kids from around the globe! Arlo is singing and counting in Vietnamese already and he and Ms. Canada are quite a pair.
We love ya’ll! Is Silas still homeschooling? Sounds like a big week for everyone. Glad to hear it all is turning out well.
Si is doing the florida virtual school. It’s good but I think if we could afford it school here would have been better….He’s so shy so it’s been hard for him to meet any kids. Miss you guys. What prompted Geo. to cut off his hair? Hope your not going too!
xoxo
Oh my goodness!! I just love reading about your adventures, as well as the boys. You tell it all so beautifully!! I love you very much……!
oh curry’s – y’all are so my heros. I love hearing about your adventures. please tell the boys that they are so brave and all this bravery is going to be rewarded with such a great sense of the world and such a feeling of global belonging. on another note- i think of you pretty much every day- it has been the most EPIC winter ever in snowfall. crazy. snowing right now and we have more than a foot on the ground. love you all, sierra
i saw the dress miss canada was wearing, being the son of a smocking and sewing madwoman, and showed my mom and she said “yep, grace knotts pattern,” a master from canada. the second thing, considering i am going to get a “rolfing treatment” later today, when they see you cry now, they push harder and say, “let it go. release,” so i don’t think it works in pilates. and last, so happy for all you. what incredible adventures. i am glad you are documenting this all. how awesome.
You have the cutest little pumpkins ever! Thank you for including the photos…and I am glad they are happy ones…I could feel your children’s fears. You ARE a brave, brave mama! Please keep the updates coming. Oh, btw, I am deactivating my FB page – I just can’t keep up with it – so just in case you don’t have my email: kat.miller@mac.com. Much love to you and your precious family! xo!
Hey, this is awesome…I didn’t get that I had to “sign up” now I can read all the stuff from last Nov. to current!..oh, well still learning after all these years!
I have always admired your writing style…it gets better and better – reading these narratives breathes precious life into each person and event —
the kids keep amazing me and you and Philip do too…I’d love to be proud but you’ve all done it yourselves together!!! just glad to be a witness! Can’t wait to see the award winning Curry photos. Anyway,
Miss you all terribly, love you all immeasurably
Your so sweet mama..wish you were here:)