Really? Yes, right here.

That's a Spam subject line from this morning. Does it seem like the Spam subject lines are getting less whimsical and more graphic lately? It's a bummer because I have to go through my Spam every day very carefully--all e-mails to subscribe to my column (So, the thing is) go into my Spam folder for some reason.

On the other hand, I am learning a LOT.

(I can even START a blog entry with a digression. I so totally rock.)

So, as predicted, my house seems too empty and I feel all mopey and regretful.

My girls started school this morning.

Last night, Jane received her shultuette, which is a German tradition where the First Grader receives this large cone of school supplies and candy to celebrate going off to FIRST GRADE.
My mom brought this one back from Germany (it's collapsible!) so it's a little bit bent but it worked just fine and she loved it. (Thanks, Mom, in case you ever read my blog.) Jane didn't eat much last night and she didn't eat much this morning --which is unlike Jane. And she had a difficult day yesterday and a hard morning this morning--I think she was just nervous. We never think of Jane as BEING nervous somehow but it's true that she's just six years old. Larger than Life in her own head, but only six years on this planet. I have shoes older than Jane.


Ana was so happy and excited and confident right until the time came to sit down in assembly when she got very pale and got those tell-tale red rings around her eyes.
I leaned over and told her a joke and then I told her, as seriously as I know how, how proud I am of her and how much I love her. I told her how I loved fourth grade and how there was a moment on every first day of school when I thought I'd just changed my mind but right after that, things got better. I whispered how her dad said to me yesterday that there just wasn't that big of a difference between him as a fourth grader and him now, except he thinks he was a better cyclist back then. (She liked that.)

And then they went off to school
and I came home and took a little nap with my Edward kitty, who let me use him as a pillow AND put both paws on my hand to keep me from leaving.

Because I try to have a little something to get excited about on the second day of school, when the realization sets in for the kids that they are going to have to do this every day for the rest of the school year, I'm off to Target to buy new lunchboxes.

I finished the first sock for my neighbor and cast on the second.

I'm not sure why the foot part always looks so big in my photos of socks because it's actually a smaller foot than normal. Anyway, I wish I had the pair completely finished because today must be so hard for my friend, whose son would have started his senior year today. I wish I could think of something to give her--just a little, "I'm thinking of you" token.

(Amy, you'll love this. Ever since I took the toilet paper over to their house in the spirit of 'nothing being too small or trivial for us to do if it might help,' my husband now prefaces his ideas with, "In the spirit of the toilet paper, what say we take some trash bags and extra trash stickers over to our neighbors?")