Did I warn you?  Did I tell you Sara would get downright Shakespearean on her first day of Pre-K?  Do you sometimes wonder where Sara gets her theatrical tendencies?  Ha! Sara entered Pre-K just as I envisioned: full of maudlin, filled with angst, and tinged with tomfoolery.  The picture above is Sara, playing the role of Katherine from “Taming of the Shrew”, preparing to leave for her first day of school.  Daddy played the role of Baptista, as I asked him take her to both the classroom visitation and the first 2 days of school.  The absolute CRAP she’ll pull with me, she would never even attempt with Daddy.  It’s TOMFOOLERY!  Complete SHENANIGANS!

Here is Baptista trying to coax her out the door:

She left maudlin and came home very much, “I’m not going back”.  Tearfully she told me of a snack-free morning, how she nearly died from thirst, that sippy cups are NOT allowed in Pre-K, and that nobody played with her.  NO ONE.  She hung her head with a dramatic sway as she said, “I had to play all by myself all day.”  Don’t pull out your kleenex just yet…Our Little Shrew has pulled this trick before.

A short call to the teacher confirmed that Sara had a wonderful first day, played with every child in the room, went out of her way to make new friends with the new kids, and had a blast in the art corner.  Surprise, surprise.

I reminded Sara that A) She doesn’t even use a sippy cup, and B) She could go all day on 3 drops of water and turns down every drink I offer her except at mealtimes.  Daddy then gently told her that most kids probably felt lonely that first day and a little bit scared of so many new things, because after all, Pre-K was a new grade with new expectations.  I then showed her that to make friends, one must be a friend: let’s start by taking treats to your new friends to celebrate your birthday.  We pulled out the chocolate chips and got to baking.  The next morning, we put on our boots and picked sunflowers for the teachers.

Upon leaving with Daddy, our little shrew had turned back into Viola, with a little breakfast in her teeth (Twelfth Night, for the non-Shakespearean readers…it’s his best comedy in my humble opinion):

She was happy, happy, happy when I picked her up Friday, back in her “I love my school” state of mind.  After all, she reminded me, Pre-K is just across the hall from her old room.  She survived without loads of snacks and juice as she pumped her arms in the air and said, “I’m not a big drinker!”, followed with, “I think I need a milkshake at Steak and Shake to celebrate.”  Agreed, we should celebrate non-sippy-cup-drinking with a little drinking.

Even happier perhaps is Katherine’s sister, Bianca.  Wow, they really are the sisters from Taming of the Shrew.  Maybe you’ve noticed, but even with Kelly’s beauty and boisterous attitude, it’s hard to top Sara’s drama.  Sara has a quieter voice, but a stronger presence in a room, if only because she’ll set the room on fire, for her sheer amusement.  At least I’m never bored.  Or fully rested.

With Sara in school, Kelly and I are back to having a little Mommy & Kelly time. After waffles and giggles on Friday morning, she and I were off for a long walk through the Zoo to enjoy the cool morning air.  It’s such a treat to listen to Kelly’s perpetual-babble-chatter and really figure out what she is trying to say.  Without hurry, without competing demands, without the temptation to switch out the laundry or wipe the floor.  Quietly, as I carried her out the car, Kelly said into my ear, “Mommy, I know a WOT about animals.”  Yes little blondie…you most certainly do.  How ’bout tomorrow we have another date…library?  Just you and me kid…