I have become my grandfather!
 

Well school started back this week here in the Houston area. My one family of 5 grand children who now live nearby all started back. Lane is in middle school and would normally catch the bus but he is playing on the football team so his dad drops him for practice at 6:30 in the morning before he heads off to work. My daughter in law takes Emily (4 1/2) to daycare and she heads to work. That leaves the other 3 to finish breakfast and get out the door. They can walk to school as it is only 4 blocks away. The parents asked if I would mind coming by for the first week and escorting them to make sure all went well. So I arrive a bit early.... Kirstyn (10), Brian (8) and Sarah (6) are on the couch watching Sponge Bob Square Pants.

We head out the door at 7:20 and walk to the school. I wave goodbye and they run inside. I come back at 3:15 and wait in the shade of a pinetree as it is 97 degrees or so, I wear a broad brimmed straw hat. They come running out and we walk home and talk about the day. I quiz them, "did you learn anything? Did you get sent to the principle's office? Were there any good fights? How bad was the lunch?" They laugh.

And I remembered my own grandfather coming to meet me as I exited Flower Hill Elementary school back when I was in first grade, I guess it was 1962. He was British and always walked with a walking stick. He wore a straw hat on the sunny days. He asked me funny questions.

I guess I have become my grandfather.

Your Grandad sounds as cool then as you are now.
We know you're actually a fittie, but the children love you because you're Grandad.

I lived so close to school aged 5-12 that I was almost never met.
Except the one time Nanny turned up unexpectedly and I ran right past her in a world of my own. Got home to major recriminations and ended up getting such a pasting I cried crocodile tears (apparently) so hard I was sick. Not scarred by that at all.

I think it's influenced one of my greatest desires though.
I always, always, always want to be met at the end of a journey.
And I can count the amount of times it's happened on two hands. Bear in mind I'm 41 and most of the ten were racked up when I was a teen.

Airport, train station, coach station, bus stop.
Please.
Won't someone, once, be waiting for me?

I envy your grandchildren Chris.
They have many, many years with you yet, but they will treasure these memories of you.

"Any good fights?"

Times sure change.

I was just telling my kids yesterday about when I was a freshman in high school, and how one of the seniors who sat at the other end of our lunch table was playing mumbletypeg* one day. I think we were able to sit at the same table as him because nobody else would, and it was the easiest place to get an empty seat.


*(I always thought that game was called mumbletypeg, but when I checked the spelling just now, mumbletypeg is a different knife game. The knife game this guy was playing was where you stab the point of the knife into the table between your various fingers as quickly as you can. Five finger fillet, the internet calls it. This guy had a big pocket knife he was using. )

I notice that more and more every time I get a hair cut.

I should add a postscript that I spoke with my daughter in law this morning who told me that the 6 year old Sarah who has just started 1st grade got 2 red marks this week in her conduct folder. On Wednesday a level 3 red mark for talking when she was not supposed to and yesterday a level 5 infraction (the worst) for talking again and turning her back on the teacher while she was teaching. Way to go Sarah! For that infraction she will have to eat her lunch today sitting in solitary at lunchroom table with a teacher that the other kids claim is a Zombie and never smiles. :eek:

Guess I should start checking her conduct folder on the way home.

The Zombie table?? My how things have changed. We all feared the electric paddling machine the principal kept in his office closet. I know he had one because the fifth graders told us.

Gosh Chris, that sounds way harsh for a tiny.
Although I know if we'd had the same rules when I was working in school the same three or four children would have been on the Zombie table every single damned day.

And I remember from being at school myself that that was also true. Some children just can't stop the chat. But they're never in the low ability group for anything.

"level 3 red mark...level 5 infraction"...in first grade.

Somebody's power tripping.

We were only ever threatened with being sent to the principal's office. The next level of discipline was a note to the parents. After that, a phone call.

I don't recall having any truly problem kids in class that ever went beyond that.

My older siblings all did some time in Catholic parochial schools back in the late 50's and my brother used to tell me how the nuns were always threatening to put him in the spanking machine or staple his lips shut. They routinely pulled hair and hit him with a yard stick.

damn, flint beat me too it...

well, if it's any consolation, i am pretty sure kids born today are going to grow to have a concept of "ancients" which is going to include anyone born in the last century indiscriminately, old geezers who remember a time before the internet, when we presumably twitted using carrier pigeons.

Well, the young people using smart phones felt that way about those who grew up before TV.

And those young people who watched TV felt that way about those
who grew up before radio.

And those young people....

I surprised the Gkids this morning and showed up to walk them to school, they were excited that I did that as I had not last week. We sat and watched Animal Planet until Kirstyn's iPod alarm went off at 7:20 telling them it was time to go (she is 10 and in charge of them for the walk to school).

It was drizzling lightly so I took a big umbrella and as we approached the school there was a bright rainbow that looked like it went down right into the back of the building. I told Sarah (age 6) it meant it would be a lucky day and everything would be good in her class and a repeat of yesterday when she got a green mark which basically means "Ok, no warnings". She turned to cross the road and and then looked back and ran up to me and gave me a hug and a kiss and thanked me for coming for the walk.

Made my day! :thumb:

That's awesome!

Well the rainbow didn't help little Sarah at school yesterday... I went over to their house in the afternoon to hang a couple of shelves in my granddaughter, Kirstyn's room. All the kids have a growing pile of trophies from soccer, football and cheer leading.

I broke away at 3:05 and walked to the school to wait their dismissal. We walked back and Sarah didn't offer much when I asked her how the day went. She has started getting some homework so I sat at the kitchen table with her overseeing her answers. The page had drawings of items and each image had 4 word choices and she had to circle the right word for the object. Her mother was in the kitchen and pulled out her conduct folder.... that's when all hell broke loose...

Apparently the teacher assigns different students on different days to be a class captain and they get to wear a special school T shirt of some kind. For some unknown reason Sarah who was wearing the shirt decided to snip a small hole in it with a scissors and got caught. As her mother read her the riot act I excused myself to go finish the last shelf. Pretty soon Sarah came up and quietly went into her room and put on pajamas. Her punishment would be an early dinner and early bed time but until dinner she would have to sit on the floor and stare at the wall. As she exited her bedroom headed towards the kitchen for solitary confinement I called out to her to come to me. I gave her a big hug and she began to cry on my shoulder, big tears on her cheeks. I told her, "you are in a lot of trouble and things are pretty bad but look at it this way, things can only get better after this."

I dropped by this morning to walk them to school and lend her some emotional support. Sarah was busy at the kitchen table writing line after line, "I will behave in class today." She had to write it on both sides and leave it out for her mother to see when she gets home later.

We held hands as we went to school. We hugged at the cross walk while the crossing guard waited. I whispered in her ear to promise me she would try to make it a great day. She complied. Her older sister took her hand and walked her to the school building while her brother ran ahead. I'm keeping my hopes up! :yesnod:

I was in first grade 52 years ago. I don't really remember much other then the teacher was old and kind of ugly and we had recess and I kind of remember the layout of the little school which only had K-3rd grade so it was small. I think first grade is harder now and they demand more from kids. Sarah is a good kid, I just think she is a bit overwhelmed buy first grade and fitting in. She is also at an age of trying to assert some level of authority so she sometimes does thing her way instead of what she is told. I saw it with my own kids and some of the other grandchildren. And she is # 4 out of 5 kids and may be sort of suffering a middle child syndrome, her little sister does get a lot of positive attention. I believe it will get better.