What happened to summer?

I have been completely blindsided by the start of school. One moment we are combing the beaches in Maine for driftwood and sand dollars, the next minute first grade is in full swing. (And I do mean full. With Japanese after-school, swimming lessons, play-dates, and lego club, Uta is lucky if he gets dinner, much less the ten plus hours of sleep required to produce a well rested six year old). Suddenly my mind can think of nothing but lunch box fillers and runny nose remedies. Oh and of course the clock. The clock is no friend to childhood and it is clearly no friend of mine. Being pressed for time seems to transform me from a generally mild-mannered calm person into a sharp tongued, quick to anger, drill sergeant. The return to school for Uta is the return to patience training for me, and our daily commute at the crack of dawn is proving to be an extraordinary teacher. I am continually amazed and happy to report that smiling and kind encouragement gets us where we are going markedly faster than the converse approach. I have tried both.

New Scooter

Uta has a new scooter. I can no longer call him Uta. Now his preferred title is 'secret agent scooter boy'. He has been scootering up and down our apartment all day. Not just anyone can scooter in our apartment. You need a license. Luckily Uta has one.

The Glorious Gift (a follow up for Aunt B)

In a previous post I mentioned that Uta received a 'glorious gift' from Baba and Jiji, but I neglected to say exactly what that gift was. I must confess I have kept somewhat ignorant about the specifics. In my opinion, it is an oversized, very noisy, colorful plastic belt that Uta, for reasons inexplicable to me, gets endless pleasure from. But maybe Uta can do a better job explaining...

(What did Baba and Jiji give you for your birthday?) A 'Kiba' belt. (What's that?) It's a bat that has a belt and little card things that make it change colors and say different things. Actually they are not cards, well maybe they are. But one is a werewolf. (What does it do?) The bat bites and talks. When it bites you it changes you into Kiba. (Who is Kiba?) Kiba is a regular person who makes violins. The bat lives in a violin without strings that rings when there is trouble. Kiba wears the bat on his belt and together they fight bad guys, of course.

Here's a picture of Kiba.