Week 2 already

Yesterday was Jack's fifth day in school.  He was so proud to tell me that he earned a pink that day.  It sounds to me that his teacher enjoyed a well-deserved rest over the weekend and was feeling pretty generous.  I gathered that quite a few pinks were handed out yesterday, and even Agent Orange escaped his usual fate.

It is amazing how many Mandarin words Jack has picked up in just a week.  He can already count to at least 19 (it may be higher by now - I think I heard him counting for his friends at a playdate yesterday afternoon).  Interestingly, he learned the word for "no" on the first day, but he still doesn't know how to say "yes."

Tom did the drop-off with Jack for the first time yesterday as well.  A week into it, Jack and I have gotten into a pretty good rhythm as far as our morning routine.  My alarm goes off at 6:32, and I wake Jack up.  He tried out having his own alarm clock wake him up in the morning but decided he didn't like the sound.  I can't say I blame him; I feel the same way about my alarm clock.  By 6:55 yesterday, Jack was out the door and on his way.  I bragged about it a little on my Facebook status, only to be suitably chastened when I realized I'd forgotten to pack a fork in his lunchbox.  Thankfully, Jack's teacher showed him where they keep the forks (actually, sporks) in the cafeteria.

I will be going in to volunteer in Jack's classroom for the first time today.  In the past, this has been an iffy proposition.  Jack gets so distracted by my presence that he doesn't focus on the teacher.  I told him that he is going to have to pay attention even when I'm there or else I won't be able to come back to help.  We'll see how he does.

The only other thing I'm a little nervous about is that today is the 11th anniversary of September 11.  We still haven't discussed the events of that terrible day with Jack.  On this day in previous years, there have been a few mentions of it around Jack, but he was either too young or too oblivious to understand what was being said.  Two years ago was actually when he went to the ER to get stitches in his lip, so he was understandably preoccupied.  Tom said that the principal said something about it oh so briefly at the morning assembly yesterday, so no doubt he will bring it up at greater length this morning.  I'm trying to formulate in my mind what I will say if Jack has any questions when he comes home from school this afternoon.

My Facebook page is lit up today with tributes and remembrances.  This is the one that has resonated the most with me so far:  "A prayer for those who died this day 11 years ago, for the families that still grieve their loss, for the heroes that day, and for our country."