Nishad wanted to share his home-grown veggies with his teachers and new friends at school. He went to the garden last night and picked 3 cucumbers and about 15 cherry tomatoes. He proudly waltzed in school with his veggies in hand. He spotted his teacher in the office and stopped to say “Good-morning” to her. The teaching assistant was ready to greet him at the door. He changed into his inside shoes, once again, all by himself, hung up his backpack and off he went. I said, “Can I have a kiss?” He turned around and gave me a hug and a kiss as I said, “Have a good time.” Dad, Arun and I turned and walked away. Mommy that I am, I shared with his teacher that he wanted to wait to go to potty in the classroom.

Ashish and I went grocery shopping while we waited out the 2 hour phase in session. We had some time to spare so we drove around and looked at houses in the area and took some brochures of the few houses that were for sale. It’s a beautiful neighborhood.. We have some big decisions to make. If we plan on living here for the next three years, this will be Nishad’s school, and then Arun’s. So, do we move closer as the school is such a central part of our lives and activities- only to then move again in 3 years? Or, do we hold out until Nishad graduates in 3 years and then make our move to a part of the country that we really like?

Arun was sleeping so I went in to pick-up Nishad. Pick-up for phase-in is different as you actually go inside to pick-up your child. Starting next week, cars line up outside and the staff escort the children to each of their cars. I found him as happy as can be, working away in the outdoor environment with a little girl in his class. His teachers both told me how much they loved the home-grown veggies and how Nishad shared it with his friends for snack. He even washed, peeled the cucumber and cut it! He’s done that at home, but it was exciting to hear about his experiences at school.

Little did he know, waiting for him in the car was a balloon for him. We picked it up because we wanted to celebrate a successful phase-in for our BIG BOY! Ashish and I let him pick out were he wanted to go for lunch; Noodles and Company. He wanted the Pad Tai, just like Mamma!