As I was rushing L to school this morning I was trying to plan my way through the day.
It looked something like this;
drop of L at class,
drive with Lulu to Fremont for swim lessons,
drive back to Milpitas to Lulu's new school,
feed Lulu lunch in the car (while driving to her school),
arrive at Lulu's new school,
complete the registration process,
drop off Lulu for her first day of preschool,
drive back home,
get supper in the crock pot,
pick up L from school,
feed L a snack,
drive back to Lulu's school,
pick up Lulu,
drive back home,
finish making supper,
feed the kids supper,
bathe the kids and then
haul them off to bed.
OMG, what did I get myself into?
It all sounded to so good, having two kids in school ... this should be like vacation, right?
To make things more complicated, L said good bye to Lulu this morning and said
"Bye Lu, see you after school, with your Zuckertuete!"
WHAT??? Zuckertuete? Crap! Must they remember everything?
When L had her first day at preschool I was so prepared!
A huge Zuckertuete was waiting for her and we all drove to her school to drop her off on her first day.
Fast forward 3 years and I am everything but prepared.
Granted, I didn't know until yesterday that Lulu would start school today but still, I felt pretty crappy not making as much as a fuss (justified or not) about Lulu's first day as I had made for L.
I guess thats the part of being the second and the youngest that sucks.
Your parents have been there and done that and it's just not such a big deal anymore.
Well, I am a strong believer of "same rules and rights for everybody in this household".
If one takes a class, the other one takes one too, if one has a b-day the other one gets to celebrate too, if one gets a Zuckertuete on her first day of preschool than the other one MUST get one too!
... even if you have to somewhat improvise.
So after I rushed back from swim class, registered Lulu, left her "all alone" at class (it was just as hard to leave her than it was with L), I raced to Target and spent my 20 minutes of "spare time" running through the isles trying to find something useful to stuff into this Zuckertuete.
Thankfully my little ballerina loves nothing more than clothes.
A new tutu and ballerina shirt, a new little Princess doll, a hunk of chocolate and I was out of there.
L was the proud Zuckertueten-delivery-person and presented Lulu, right in class, with her little, pink, full of treasures filled, Zuckertuete.
Lulu had a huge smile on her face when she saw us and an even bigger smile when she saw the "object of her affection" in L's hands.
I raced over to Lulu to hug her and ask her how her first day was and was greeted with
"Mama, I just don't want to talk about it! I just want to go home and open my Zuckertuete now."
8:05 pm, the Ls are snoring already, and we still don't know much more about her day.
She was so tired and exhausted that she skipped dinner (she mostly does though ... my food is just not good enough for her royal taste buds) and was out within seconds of laying down.
I am hoping tomorrow we'll be graced with a few more details of her day, but it's Lulu we are talking about here.
For all we know "she just doesn't want to talk about it" tomorrow either, or the next day, or the day thereafter.
Lucy Luise does what she wants, when she wants it and how she wants it and you just don't get in her way when she has her mind set and wants it her way. God help you if you do!!!
So here is my little Lulu, all grown up, going to preschool, with her Zuckertuete (posing na-course :)
My two BIG Ls
WOW!
I can not believe they have gotten so big!
Blows me away every time I look at them.
And now it's time to rest my tired body and try to relax.
A very big and busy day for us ...
... and a VERY sad day for Japan and the rest of the world.
Mother Earth sure seems p'd off right now, she is shaking and rumbling all over.
L went to bed, said her prayer and added "and please protect the Japan people and the animals.
We are OK with our guardian angels God, you can take care of the Japan people and don't worry about us."
I sure hope the big man up above listens to these wise words of my wonderful 6 year old.
We are OK and so very thankful and grateful for that.
We have our family, our health, a roof over our heads, plenty of food on the table, an employed Papa and nothing really big to worry about.
Sometimes I catch myself trying to compete with he rest of this fast paced, high energy, high end everything life in CA.
Wanting more, better things, being not happy with what we have and always looking at the grass on the other side because it is SO much greener, better and fancier.
It's right then that I, momentarily, loose sight of what is really important, even though it is right in front of me, in blank sight and so easy to spot.
Life is good and easy for us.
Maybe not very fancy but good and full of love, laughter and kindness.
Joy comes from just being together, drawing on a chalk board, smiling and having fun.
Not so for the people affected by this terrible disaster.
They may have had this yesterday but today they may have lost everything that I see in the picture above.
Just the thought of that, while looking at Pat's smile and the Ls playing around, makes my heart drop and takes my breath away.
Life no longer would be worth living for, if it wasn't for everything I see in this picture.
So please dear God, don't worry about us right now, tend to those much more in need,
those who are hurting, have lost somebody, have lost everything, have watched their lives swim away and now have to start building up out of nothing but wet grounds and broken hearts.
What a day!!!
