How do you make water?

Today was Emma's first day of second grade. She put a lot of thought into her first day outfit, and was thrilled to wear her new (blue not pink because pink is sooooo first grade) backpack.

I woke both girls at 7:30am so we'd have a large margin for the 8:30 bus time, and we ended up ready by 7:34 because Emma was in hyperdrive with anticipation. I wasn't quite sure why Sofia moved so quickly, but her motivation soon became clear.

These are the first 2 pictures I took of my 2nd grader this morning. I honestly don't know where this expression came from. There is a fine line between being anxious for the first day of school and being a victim of waterboarding, and I'll let you be the judge of where in that continuum her expression falls...

I finally gave her a shot of scotch and she managed to relax her facial muscles into something that might pass for a smile, although I think it still looks vaguely prison camp-ish.

By the time we headed down the hill to the bus stop Emma had calmed her nerves and seemed to be more resigned than terrified. Sofia by then had broken into a full-out sprint, in anticipation of sending older sister away and having ALL THOSE TOYS to herself for the next 7 hours.

The bus stop was a reunion of sorts, all the kids in the neighborhood lined up and ready to go. The parents all agreed that the summer had gone far too quickly, and yet the school year had come just in time.

Then, with a hasty kiss goodbye my first baby boarded the bus to second grade.

And before I could even contemplate a moment of sentimentality, Sofia began to yank my arm from its socket and then sprinted up the hill to the house, where poor Emma's Polly Pocket collection awaited.

You can see clearly in this photo how she is humoring me to TAKE THE DAMN PICTURE so she can get back to playing with her sister's toys.



Emma came home thrilled to death that I had homework while she did not. My homework was to fill out the same medical authorization & emergency contact forms I've filled out for the past 3 years, IN DUPLICATE, because evidently the Plymouth Public School system believes that databases are just a fad.

My favorite part of the whole day, though, was the one piece of 2nd grade work that Emma brought home. It was a stunningly slow-pitch worksheet with questions like "my teacher's name is..." and "my favorite part of today was..." The final question was "One thing I want to know is..." and Emma's response ---

How do you make water?