Stahlke Adoption

The First Day of School

When I started my first day of school, many years ago, we attended class for the entire day. Current practice, however, calls for a short day instead. David and Sarah met their teachers at Garfield for one hour this morning, and Rachel, Adam, and Paul went to Grace for three hours. Tomorrow is the first full day of school, when I can return to my own jobs of housekeeping, adoption, and church work.

Despite the difficulties for Jonathan and me to be in Ukraine during the fall rather than the summer, I feel good that the children will have the structure of school to help them while we are gone. Last night, Rachel pored over the sixth grade schedule obtained at a Grace parents' meeting. Despite her excitement and fear of starting school in a new place, the concreteness of the schedule seemed to ease her apprehensions.

This morning, to celebrate the new school year, I prepared Guatemalan hot chocolate to accompany our breakfast. We had received this treat from a friend who recently traveled to Guatemala on a mission trip. She knew that Jonathan lived there until fourth grade, and that he would especially enjoy such a souvenir. The chocolate is flavored with unusual spices, and as we drank it, Jonathan and I smiled at each other across the table. We had enjoyed similar hot chocolate during our honeymoon in Oaxaca, Mexico.

posted by Stahlkes @ 11:06 AM