First day and weeks of Kindergarten have passed. On the first day, I walked with Colin the half-mile to school. Tucked into his backpack was the silver star that mom gave to each grandchild to hold on special occasions. I was a bit nervous that he would lose it and offered to hold it, but he said “then grandma will be with you and not me.” So I found a hidden pocket to keep his star safe. Colin was so excited! We chatted on our walk and we met Rob in the parking lot (he had to head out for work). Walking down the hall to his classroom, I realized what a big little boy Colin has become. He wasn’t nervous, scared or anxious. Just ready to start this new adventure. I’m so proud of him at such a deep level. We walked him into the bright and colorful space where he would spend the next ten months and said good morning to his teacher. We had met her the week prior at an open house. She showed him where to find his name tag and to pick a space at a table to sit.
Since Colin showed no inclination to look back at us, we said goodbye, quick kisses and left him to start his day. My lip started wobbling but I didn’t cry until we pulled into the driveway. I think that we’ve always been more inclined to look forward than look back and we’ve been looking forward to Colin starting school for a long time. A brief 2.5 hours later (I guess this equals “half-day” in today’s academic reality) and I picked him up for a treat before taking him to his daycare school. In answer to my excited “so how was it?!” Colin answered “it was good!” in his chipper happy guy way. Not much in the way of detail but I’ll take what I get.
As the weeks pass I am constantly reminding myself that the formal school setting is a big adjustment for our high-energy boy. We knew it was going to be, but the reality is a bit different. He is learning to listen to his teacher, and she has a good reward system in place. Probably much better than our pleas to “for the love of all that is holy, just listen!” I hope it clicks with him soon, because I want Colin to enjoy school as much as I did. Okay, I was perhaps a bit high on the over-eager for learning scale. And with Rob on the far other side of the spectrum, being over-eager to be a handful to his teachers, it will be interesting to see where Colin lands. We've walked to school every day and it's a nice time for the two of us. It's downhill to school, then I get a nice bum burner on the way back up.
This weekend, we took the Indian down to the school for Rob to give riding it a try. We live in a hilly neighborhood, so putting a 74-year old bike in gear for the first time in a decade is a bit dicey with no flats in case of trouble. Rob started it up and got it moving with a rumble of that wonderful old engine noise and a cloud of exhaust. I watched him go and felt such pride for him. Not only for embracing the history of the bike but for his dedication to getting it running and moving again. It’s a good example for Colin to see that perseverance through frustration pays off! As he went around for another circuit, I felt the wind starting to stir the still air. I felt Mom and Grandpa were approving, and letting me know they were laughing and cheering Rob on with me.
I went to see Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson with my friend Connie. It was a great show. Too short for me, but hey, they ain’t too young anymore. Merle Haggard in particular brings back very vivid childhood memories. The Lucchesi six squeezed into the root-beer colored buick, eight-track whirling, us kids singing songs of heartbreak and hard times with zero knowledge of what hard times meant. It wasn’t until I was in my twenties that I finally realized that “Silver Wings” was about an airplane. Not because my bulb is especially dim, but because whenever the song would come on my sister Angela would join her thumbs and flap her hands like an ephemeral butterfly – so I thought the song was about an angel’s wings taking a lovely lady away. We used to play family band, so of course, when “Daddy Frank” came on, we could easily slip into the parts. Of course, mom wasn’t deaf and dad wasn’t blind (but his real name is Frank) so there was some imagination required.
It seemed like there were certain Haggard songs written just for my family – “Mama Tried” brought Tony to mind. “Farmer’s Daughter” is very much a song for my mom, who did indeed marry “some city boy from town.” And of course, we were all in a way “Okie’s from Muskogee” even though our Okie relations are really from Tennessee and we didn’t know what “marewauna” or “pitchin woo” was. I’m sure we listened to Kris Kristofferson (I can never just say “Kris” or “Kristofferson.” For me it’s a double-barreled name.) just as much, but I don’t have as many particular memories about him. I do remember that I got back into this era of music in college. It was a fun night!
The season has turned to fall. My favorite time of year. I’ve been studying astrology more and realize that September is the month when my solar return starts to really take shape. No wonder that Autumn is when I feel like my brain and body rise into a new level of energy. If you aren’t into astrology that will make no sense and that’s okay – I still love you.
