First week of school!

This week has brought big changes for us all.

Kids started school; I met another person; DH finally ordered a back-pack for his laptop. Yes, a big week.

(Small break while I eat a chocolate coin.)

The littlies (five-year-olds) do in fact walk to school by themselves - for the most part. This I am not willing to let DS do; partly because of his 5-y.o. unpredictability, but also because there is one road he must cross which doesn't have the usual yellow-striped crossing. Our town is not really rev-head central or anything, but still: it only takes one car going a bit too fast...

DS is not happy about this. On Day 2 he waved me away with his as yet un-gloved hand. 'You are not supposed to be here,' he told me. 'I can do it by myself.'

'We'll see about that, mein Junge,' I thought to myself. So I said, 'OK, you walk ahead. I'll follow.'

Need I say, he had no idea which way to go, and twice headed off into the Alpine yonder at breakneck speed. If I hadn't been laughing so hard I would have caught up faster, but luckily he's well trained to stop at roads, so all's well that ends well.

I should just say that the kids look outrageously cute in their puffy jackets, gloves, hats etc. with obligatory orange reflector bib, as they head off into the misty mornings. This morning, all I could see of DS was his nose.