Homework

Alyssa declared last Monday, the night before school, that the first day is one of the days where they just don’t get anything done.

“We don’t do anything on the first day!” she crowed.

She was just so excited to see her friends and thrilled beyond words that her teacher had put her and one of her BFFs next to each other.

I warned her not to disrupt the class by talking to T during lessons. Alyssa looked at me like I was crazy. “Duh,” she said. There are rules against talking during class and my girl is all about the rules.

I decided not to tell her about one 300 level English class in college that I attended with Julie. We were probably halfway through the semester when Julie and I just couldn’t contain our enthusiasm. I’d like to think we were actually talking about Ode on a Grecian Urn as we whispered urgently back and forth but we probably weren’t. Anyway, the professor finally looked up from his own class-wide discussion of the very same Ode and admonished, “Girls. Tommie.”

Hello! Why didn’t he say Julie’s name too? Why single out just one of us when we were both talking?

Anyway, that was something that didn’t happen when I was in fourth grade either. I was a rule girl then too. So yes, Alyssa may have future scoldings to which she can look forward but fourth grade should be smooth sailing.

Though they’ve been in school for four days, Alyssa has yet to bring home homework. I think third grade homework started sooner than this. Imma gonna have to trust Mrs. K, though. It’s been a nice, gradual week, I like that.

Olivia, on the other hand, came home with a folder that first day after kinderkids. She announced, “We have homework!”

And we do. We’ve been instructed to read to Olivia every night. That is her homework for the year. I think we can handle this one.