Wednesday, August 26, 2009

The First Day

It was Matthew's first day of school. I was in much anticipation, and wanted to get off work quickly.

I fed him his breakfast.
Aris fixed his snack.
We reminded him to be kind to new classmates, be respectful and helpful.
He said he wanted cafeteria food, and I said not to use catsup (okay, only a very little bit).
I told him (for the millionth time) about the importance of handwashing (which he is good at - NO WONDER, did you say? ;o).
I asked him not to forget to pray at mealtime.
We all walked him to the room, where a few kids and parents already milled about.
We knew some of them and said hello.
I met Ms. Willingham again, his soft-spoken, smiling young teacher, and wished her all the best in my heart.
I also met the assistant teacher who was much older, Mrs. Richardson, who lived in the Philippines with her missionary parents when she was three years old and stayed there until she finished high school.
Mrs. Richardson blurted about Pancit right away, which was kind of fun.
Aris came in after parking the car, lugging all the materials asked of second-graders: several big black binders, crayolas, bottles of glue, clorox wipes and boxes of tissue, notebooks, among others.
We were only asked to have a few notebooks, one writing pad, one box of crayons, a ruler, a set of pencils, when I was in second grade back in 1977.
Aris and Mrs. Richardson fell into animated conversation about Filipino food.
The boy plopped on a seat next to his best friend, another Filipino boy who LOOKS like him.
They both started working on the paper which was laid out on the table in front of them, amid excited chatter.
AJ got busy introducing himself around the room.
He then settled on a chair in front of his kuya (big brother), AND 'worked' on the paper meant for the kid assigned to that table.
It was our cue.
We all gave Matthew an extra squeeze and kiss, and bid everyone good bye.
He was going to have a wonderful first day.

15 comments:

Willie a.k.a Reptoz said...

Wow...my son will go to school in 3 years time. Heheh must be exciting for MAthew huh.

I thought my 2 year old son to pray too before he eats. Now he can recite simple prayer before eating. heheh

Anonymous said...

nauunawaan ko ang feelings mo ngayong pumapasok na si Matthew.

naaalala ko tuloy ang nanay ko noong unang araw ko sa eskwela. she was very excited then, very much like you now! kulang na lang na ipagsigawan sa buong mundo na ako'y nag-aaral na.

Reader Wil said...

That brings back memories of long ago! More than 37 years ago! Your boys are adorable! Thanks for sharing!

Deb Murphree/Alabama Politics said...

Sweetie..the first day of school is always hard...and I think it might be the hardest for the PARENTS lol...It's like you can't wait to get them in school, and then when that day finally arrives, the tears start flowing LOL...You know how they want you to donate tissues? Well, forget that...keep the tissues for your tears LOL...

Aliceson said...

First day of school is always stressful for me. I always worry about the little stuff like catsup too lol!

What is with the extensive school supply list? I never remember having to bring all that extra stuff either. My husband went out last night shopping for all of the supplies for our 2 girls and spent almost $50. My first grader needs 3 bottles of glue, 2 boxes of big zipper lock bags, 2 stacks of paper plates, etc. What the heck? I just hope that all of it gets used and doesn't go to waste. Oh well, like I said I get worked up over the little stuff...

rainfield61 said...

This marked the new milestone of his journey. He has many new friends, he has his own responsibility.

He has grown up.

cherie said...

willie, enjoy the baby moments! so proud of your little one for knowing how to pray! yeah, exciting for matthew. you really can say that again. lol!

nakakaaliw po, manoy doro, haha! well, he's off to a good start. maganda rin yung alam ng mga guro na involved ang parents sa learning ng mga bata kasi, para tratuhin din nila ng maayos. salamat po sa dalaw!

thank you, ms. wil! imagine, 37 years. time does fly!

ms. deb, i am truly happy and sad. half the time when i'm not occupied, i'm thinking of my boy, hoping the phone does not ring to say he fell off the monkey abrs or something....hard for parents, you got that right, LOL!

you made me laugh, aliceson1 my thoughts exactly1 goodness, the list they DO come up with! it's amazing. this year, i'm going to keep track of WHEN they ask for reinforcement. they run out of crayons and glue so fast!

thank you, rainfield. he is still my big baby but you're right, he has grown up. thanks again for the drop by!

Icy BC said...

School starts already? We still have another week to go!

Sounds like everything went smoothly, Cherie!

cherie said...

ah yes, Icy, thanks. and the first homework was show and tell. but when i asked about lunch, he said it was cheese sticks. how can anyone just serve cheese sticks to energetic 7-year-old kids these days?

ladyviral said...

Matthew growing up! Time for him to get to know more friends :).

Least he wasn't sticky and crying and all... I remember when I was in school for the very first time and first day... So many kids were crying! I would just look at them weirdly hahaha... I didn't cry, maybe because I had my childhood best friend therem and we were by each other throughout the days :).

cherie said...

oh, wonderful, you brave girl! i'm sure your mama was proud! well, matthew reported that today he was paired with a girl from kindergarten who was nasty because she spat on the floor. he didn't like it very much. i tolf him to be nice just the same, lol!

Unknown said...

I remember those days well. It was so difficult to leave and go to work.

cherie said...

i was actually craning to see if he was looking while we left. he wasn't. he had other priorities. hahaha!!

Jesusa said...

yay!

cherie said...

haaay, batog na naman...

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