let the answers to my questions from yesterday begin...
we had our second day of school today. we arrived around snack time. a couple of minutes in, i suggested that william and i go visit the big kid classroom for 10 or 15 minutes to see how henry did without us. about 15 minutes in, as i was trying to persuade william to come back with me to check on henry, henry's teacher carried him in, a new bump on his head. somehow or other he had bumped it on the door in his determination to find the family members who'd abandoned him. to be fair, he got an even bigger bump on his head this afternoon at home and toppled partway down the stairs leading to the slide out on the school playground while under my watch. and to be fair to myself he also slipped on the wooden chest that's in our main room while holding greg's hand today. it's like we cannot do enough to keep this boy safe-- take away every piece of furniture less than three feet tall and stand around, i guess. today greg asked, "do you think he's learning anything from all of this?" i thought for a second, "well, i'll tell you what he learned today... he learned to jump from the (aforementioned) chest, so that i can catch him." he found this seemingly original idea to be great fun.
we stayed at school for lunch today and when all of the children were waiting patiently at the table in their seats for the lunch cart to arrive, and he was climbing out of his high chair, a substitute teacher who was in his classroom looked genuinely puzzled and asked me why he doesn't like to stay in his seat. i would find it a strange question, except that every other small child really was sitting patiently and quietly. i wondered if it could be a danish gene that henry lacks-- he is only 3/16ths danish. that's not very danish. but all i could say was, "he doesn't really like to sit still." what 13 and a half month old does, really? well, maybe the scandinavian ones.
i have to say i was really impressed with the lunch fare. when it was finally carted in, there was, of course, bread and butter, and also some sort of pate (don't know the keyboard commands for the accents), which i think is pretty popular here. then, a plate of steamed beets, carrots, and peas. live sprouts (at least it looked like you could water them and they'd keep growing). meatballs-- a certain kind which are also apparently traditional here, and a rice pilaf. i wasn't quite sure if i was there to share in the lunch or if i was there to keep henry and william on the up and up, so i didn't take any for myself (though i did finish up what was on william's plate). it was great. i would like to become a regular for their meals.
so... tomorrow, thursday, and friday, no school. thursday and friday, we have been reminded by many, all of the stores are closed. saturday is a high of 3 (yes, that's celcius, but it's not going to sound that much better if i write it in fahrenheit). monday, school and stores are closed again. greg is thinking of taking some or all of those days off (not tomorrow). easter here seems to be sort of like thanksgiving-- pretty much everyone takes the days off-- many in greg's lab started their vacations today. we talk about going somewhere, but it doesn't go beyond talk. honestly, thinking of a train ride at this point that lasts longer than 45 minutes, just sounds like trouble. but it will happen-- next month for sure as greg's parents come to visit us. who knows though. maybe we'll get ambitious as the week goes on.
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