Emily's School day!

Everything has an end.....and a new beginning!!!!

A painful day for mommy finally has arrived, anxiety, fear, and most of all, emptiness.....who is going to fill my little Emily's place?....Sophie?, some i guess, but the "partnership" and bonding that lately has been amazingly growing?....i am going to miss her....

Somehow i feel it is not fair, after all the time, fights, non-sleep, psychology, and else; to mold my little one to be a respectful lovely girl......they take her away from me!!!! just NOT FAIR....

We had an "Open house" a day before school....it is a wonderful time to meet teachers, children, and the school itself (if you didnt went around before-like me) and have some Ice-cream at the end!....We had a meeting at the school before that day, but was mostly for parents to meet the Director and know more about the school, while the children went to play in the classroom..... that day i saw i lovely lady i meet when Emily was 2 years old (it really seems like a long time!), when she use to teach little children along with parents (like a pre-school) for a couple of hours....her name is grandma Judy.....I felt better to know that she will take care good care of Emily, she was so happy to see us and told everybody about Emily.....Judy has been volunteering at that school for a long time cause many kids went to great her, big hugs and kisses for "grandma judy"....from 6 to 10 years old kids.....i felt the love! Judy was so kind to show us around the school....and oh my God!, what a big school!....Holmes Elementary had something around 450 kids and just teach primary level.....and as far as i know they have 3 classrooms for kindergarten.....She show us the library, the music, computer, art classrooms, and the gym!....the lunch room too (my baby is going to buy her own lunch!!!) and we met all the teachers on our way.....and because they are not allow to bring money the kids use "security cards", they need to learn their password and parents can put some money in those kind of credit cards.i think i did great after all, i keep my cool and let Emily had an amazing experience at her first day...It was nice to see neighbors and they kids around...that is a rule here, is like a neighborhood school....we are going to Holmes school because is in our area....how lucky are we??......

We also could see parents crying...i wasnt, she was so happy and waiting so long for this day....everybody who knew she was going to kindergarten made a big deal about it, a marvelous idea grew in her mind, school was a wonderful place to have lots of friends to play and do stuff!

Daddy mention i didnt drop a tear because i was happy to get rid of her, SO NOT TRUE!......even little sissy try to follow Emily, they are such lovely friends.....but this is a journey Emily is going to start on her own....they will catch up later!Another great thing is i can come and visit her anytime i want, and become a volunteer too...i try to be by lunch time, but because this first week they are going home earlier, i missed it and had some time at recess....she was a little sad, ans when i approached to her she just start to cry really hard.....i couldnt understand what she was saying.....the i catch "i hurt my leg".....and more and more crying.....i hug her and she calm down quite.....but after the day was gone and i pick her up, she was happy again and told me she made 2 friends, Karen and Seven....yes seven!.....what was really funny was that her teacher is Mrs Ford, so for Emily to remember i told her it sounds like Four, so she is Mrs "cuatro"....she laugh so much about that (but she doesnt want me to say that at school)....and now she has a friend "siete"......

Later she explain to me that when the bell ring a kid push her from the slide and he fall bad.....i let her know she should tell the teacher if something like that happens again....

This is her 3th day, and already the sub-director, her assistant, and the teacher knows me well.....Today I let emily to walk on her own to the front door, while i waited some steps behind....She keep herself at the door and didnt went all the way through so i had to help her, inside we saw all the kids going in just one direction (probably to the Gym cause it was rainy), and when i ask if everybody was going over there (meaning all kindergartens include), the assistant told me yes, except from PARENTS......probably noisy parents like me! ha, ha!. they know me already dont they!.....and school has just started!!!!!

Family matters.....

In Peru (as in some other countries, i guess), we carry 2 surnames, the first one (and most important) from our father, and the second (the one is lost through generations) from our mother.....So, until few years ago, when you got married you could introduce your husbands first surname instead of your mother's (so you always keep just 2 surnames) and which i did when i got my first passport....but in one of my trips to Peru, the rules changed, and you no longer eliminate your mothers surname, and if you have to introduce your husband surname, that will be your third surname....

Having my visa and many other documents with my husband surname at the end, i had to get a new passport with the three surnames, lucky me i just have one first name, otherwise that would be such a pain.....
So, having 2 surnames make yourself kind of unique, i mean, here your can have hundreds of people with the same surname and not be related at all....In Peru if you try to find a person on the yellow pages, you definitely dont have much to look for or make a mistake calling the wrong Alipio Julio Ponce Huaman.....

In my family i have a sister/cousin, or what normally be call first cousin?... but for us is quite special because my mother's sister married my dad's brother, and for that my cousins have my same surnames, in the same order, just like me and my brothers.....

My sister/cousin is one year older than I, we grew up together as close as brothers and sisters can be.... she has a great memory for that, o my God!, she remembers every little thing, every little play, all the fights, our pets, our friends, school, etc, etc.....she usually tells me: "i am not sure you are my cousin!", because i barely remember things, and as times passes i remember even less....

But most of all, i remember how great she was drawing, i may say i am pretty good at that too, and i believe it comes from our father side, my grandpa was an Artist.....however, there was a big difference, i was good making copies from pictures, she was creative in many ways....i specially like and recall her passion for dresses, she was maybe 10-12 years old, and she did draw and draw, designs after designs, dresses for our barbie dolls....and i remember we did sew those dresses for our dolls, and even a couple of her designs my mother did sew then for me (she was great with a sewing machine).....

So, when i was growing up i dream to become an Interior Designer, which had no future in my parents eyes, so i had to choose a University career in order to get my "Titulo" (like a second degree after you get your bachelors)...i guess that is every parents dream in Peru, and it is so common i didnt fight it, i just had to find something else to go for.....

My sister/cousin choose Architecture, maybe because her father was a civil engineer, but i guess mostly because she was born for that....

Having nothing to loose i had one of those famous vocational psychologist test, to see my inclinations.....test after test the results came: doctor, biologist and ......(dont remember last one), maybe because a new word open with the word BIOLOGIST, which was far from being an accountant, a lawyer, or even a doctor (the "favorites" of any parent's mind) .....a b-i-o-l-o-g-i-s-t....ok, lets see!.....and in one of my searches i found something like this: "being a biologist you need to have an artistic eye to look what no other eye can see"......lately i think you need that in any profession, but at that time i thought that my path was being connected in front of me....and that was my future....

My sister/cousin never loose her touch, such creations, and even her style, her strength.....She is my role model, she is my best friend.....i specially like the last one because she can be sensitive and impartial......she can even slap my face throw the phone!, but most of all, she is always there to hear me and she will never lie to me, not even "to make me feel happy"......
In one of our talks, she send a picture with a beautiful dress for her cat that she and her daughter made.....but then she mention they use silicone to stick the stuff together.....so i was remembering one of my few memories, and how much we enjoy making dresses for our dolls, etc, etc....and then it got me thinking about how much technology (if i can call it like that) has change through years....not that i complain, cause it is great to have a car or a plane instead of a horse or else....or o my God, what will i do without a washing machine or dish machine????.....and then i though about the rice cooker uhmmmm????.......in my time, we cook rice in conventional pans, use a little bit of oil and fry some garlic until gold, then little toast the rice with that, add the water and salt till boil, move, add water, move, water in the middle and decrease the temperature for cooking......so you are probably stick to the pan to see and taste and add water, etc, etc....probably while you are cooking something else....i always wonder how our moms did that and watch her kids!....well i know my mom had and assistant, but what about others mums???....i mean, why i cant, even with all the machines!

Emily has learn how to make rice on the cooker, she loves every step on that, from counting the cups of rice, to wash it, to add things and stir, and finally to turn it on to cook..... not to mention she loves to eat rice......

but then i thought, as other things, they had become mechanic.......will she be able to "survive" without "machines"....what will she do if her rice cooker broke? (buy another? probably..) just to mention one little example.......

When i was growing up, my mom had help in the house, so i didnt learn how to cook, or maybe i just didnt like since the beginning, and i didnt care to ask about it.....but then my mom retire from work when i was around 15 or so, and she decide to teach me some, which i complete refuse to do it, it was too late for me.....my dad, more determined to chaining me to the kitchen if he had to, told me i had to learn at least how to make rice and how to prepare spaghetti, just as a survival skill.......and because no one says no to my dad, i learned it.....then by 25, when i leave my home, or better say, when i got married, those where the only two dishes i knew how to prepare.....

So now, sewing was part of my child "hobbies", and i definitely like it better than cooking....we learn how to sew from school, and how to stitch buttons and zippers (which was the hardest for me) and even to knit and crochet.....it just make me think, besides for a good education, good manners, and to be a good sister, i will have to teach Emily and Sophie how to sew....and cook rice and spaghetti, and 10 other dishes i learned over the past 10 years......(maybe just 7, but by the time she is ready it could be 10!).....

So, it doesnt stop, growing is a constant learning...from walk to be a good person, to be kind, to be confident, to care, from people, animals, the planet.....now, little by little but non-stop.....we will make sure my little Emily learn now while she is little and quite obedient....and for sure she will be a great help when Sophie needs to learn those things too, because oh my God, we are going to need all the help available with that little one!!!