School Lunch!

I had lunch with Ethan at school today and it was so fun! I sort of felt like a celebrity. I was waiting in the hallway as the kids quietly lined up and took turns entering their lunch code into the machine. Ethan's friend, Jackson, walked by me and said, "You're here to have lunch with Ethan!" Several other friends said hi, then Ethan came around the corner and his face lit up with a great big smile. He waved and in a shy yet excited voice he said, "Hi, Mommy!" I got in line and the lunch experience began!

We got our food (corn dog for Ethan, chef salad for me) and I embarassed myself when I said, "May I have a cookie?" and the nice lady said, "Those are chicken patties." Darn, they looked like yummy peanut butter cookies. Anyway, we sat down and I met a table full of new friends. One girl said her mom is having a baby today then without a breath moved on to a new topic. A boy said I should come for lunch on my birthday and he will give me a present. They were all eager to explain everything to me.

Next up: recess! It is a sunny almost-spring-like day and we all cheered as we felt the sun hit our faces. We got to the playground and the kids wanted to play tag. There were about 7 or 8 of us but it must have looked like fun because soon enough there were at least 20 kids. Every one of them tagged me so I was "it" every other time. (Ethan told me if I needed to take a break I should say "time out"). No way! Then playground troubles started happening with some other groups of kids and since I was a grown-up, kids thought I was the "Duty". Here's a summary:

#1 "Duty, someone threw rocks in her face!" (girl is sobbing, she calms down and goes back for more)

#2 "Duty, someone said I am a lazy butt! It was her!"

#3 "Duty, he punched her (girl #1) in the stomach!"

#4 "Duty, he said the "B" word to me!"

#5 "Duty, she's crying! Someone tripped her and she fell on her bottom!"

#6 "Duty, he threw rocks at me. Yes, my arm is okay but it has a little scratch!"

You're it! Let's play freeze tag! Let's play stuck in the mud! [Oh my gosh, WHEN WILL THE BELL RING?]

Then finally, the bell rang and we headed back to the building. Soon I had one girl (our sweet next-door neighbor) holding my left hand, then another holding my right hand and everyone saying, "Come to our class! Come to our class!"

It is great being a celebrity, especially since they could care less what my hair looks like or how I'm dressed! Seriously, though, it was amazing to see how excited the kids were for me to be there. They also had respect for me, as an adult. They trust us. That's important to remember.

It was a great experience and I can't wait to go again. Mental note for next time: wear sneakers, not clogs and go pee before playing tag.