Presently

I'm just back from kindergarden information night. The realisation that our son will be entering the American public school system in a few months is a bit daunting. At least for me. He'll probably take it in his stride.

I'm sure my teachers, way back when, had timetables and lesson plans and so on, even for junior and senior infants (as the first two years of school are called in Ireland, equating roughly to pre-k and kindergarden); but I had no inkling of this, and neither, I'm sure, did my parents, so they didn't have to be intimidated by it. My mum asked around when I was three, heard the local national (state) school was good, and sent me there the following September. Which is more or less what I've done here.

I'm sure it'll be fine. It's just another step towards being here forever, though, like we never intended.

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Monkey likes to employ his sister as his little minion, to do his bidding, whenever he can. Which is cute, if annoying. When he's sitting on the toilet, majestically producing his majestic productions, he calls her in to entertain him by clambering in and out of the cupboard under the sink. I'm surprised he doesn't have her putting on an all-singing, all-dancing show while standing in the sink, but I probably shouldn't mention that for fear that she'll think it's an excellent idea.

He also uses her to relay messages to me, like that he's done and ready for me to come and help with the wiping of the majestic bottom. (Which he can actually do perfectly well himself, but I have to keep the wipes out of reach so that Mabel doesn't yank them all out and use them to shine all her crayons, one by one.)

Today she was taking a break from the entertaining and busy with something or other in the family room when Monkey summoned me, from the bathroom, to send her to him. I told Mabel that her brother required her presence. She jumped to attention, said "Yes, yes, I have presents for him," and scrabbled together a bundle of goodies in her blanket. Then she ran into the bathroom and declared, "Here are your presents," producing a small plastic shark, a tiger, an aeroplane, and a baby.

Then he sent her out again to tell me that he was done, and ready for his close-up.