schooled

 Today is Friday.  Lily has been in school for 7 days now.  That first day was brutal.  It was exactly as horrible and depressing as I thought it would be.  Since then, there are a few things I've learned.

One, I have serious separation anxiety.  Lily.  Doesn't. 

Two, in just 5 short days, it's possible for a non-morning person to become a morning person.  Now, I'm not talking about waking up & hugging rainbows or shooting sunshine out of my ears.  I'm just saying that now it only takes me a minimal amount of self-pep-talks to get out of bed & get moving.  (The rule remains...I still don't want to talk to you before 9:30 a.m.)

Three, Routine isn't has bad as I thought it would be.  I had visions of repression.  I fought it taking hold.  But there it is.  And it's necessary.  It feels good to have to do certain things a certain way at certain time on certain days.  It's soothing.  It feels like...

Four, some people think that if you don't have a kid at home, you have nothing to do.  You're couch potato-ing it, eating proverbial bon-bons.  Funny, right?

Five, I have a very high tolerance for dust.  Really.  I don't care if it's there for months.  Last Friday, I cleaned the bathrooms to avoid dusting.  And it worked.  The dust is still there.

Six, my house makes lots of weird noises when I'm alone.  Sometimes, it's creepy.  Sometimes, I have to look behind the shower curtains to make sure no one is there.  Because, if I were a boogie man, that's exactly where I'd hide.

Seven, I've realized how much I find baking to be a calming activity.  That stinks.  By the time Lily graduates, I'm going to be seven thousand pounds.  Seven thousand.  And then I'm going to have to bake even more because I'll be so depressed when she leaves me to go to college.  It'll be bad.  I see Richard Simmons--and a crane--in my future.  OR, I can just go with her to college.  She will love it.

Speaking of the sugary-hi-carb devil....

I saw this idea on some website.  I think it was HowDoesShe, which is also where I got the first day of school sign.  Some girl's mom baked a big cookie for her kids on their first day of first grade.  I say, a kid should have a big cookie on the first day of every grade. 

 

I made the mistake of writing with gel on a hot cookie.  Didn't matter.  Still tasted good.  It's called an oatmeal chipper cookie.  Made in a skillet, in the oven.  I don't remember where I got the recipe...or what a chipper is.  But it's one of my favorites.  Thick and soft.  Cut like a pizza. 

Lily loved it.  

So.  There you have it.  I survived the first week of school.  Please...hold the applause.