My Lunch With a Gaggle of 2nd Graders

You guys are going to be so jealous. Today, I had lunch with a gaggle of second graders. It was the "holiday lunch" at The Boy's school. I was scheduled for a conference call from 9am-4pm at work. I told them I wouldn't be there from 12-1:30 and to get over it. They got over it.

I went to The Boy's school and hunted down his class. The Boy was so excited to see me. And (I love this part), he actually hugged me and blew me a kiss in front of his WHOLE class. This is where I love his social ignorance.

I had been joking with my coworkers that I'd be back if I survived the cafeteria food. I have to tell you, the food was actually really good. I had turkey & gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans, a roll and a little piece of pumpkin cake w/ a dollop of whipped cream. Honestly, it was very good. Who'da thunk it?

I sat on the ground outside (we had 80 something degree weather today) with The Boy's class. I pretended not to care about the spiders that checked us out (I can't let kids see how much I hate bugs). At one point, I said to a few of the kids around me, "Wow, this food is pretty good. You guys are lucky to have such a great cafeteria." To which one child replied, "Oh it's not this good usually." Ha!

I love meeting a group of elementary school kids. The Boy totally didn't realize he should introduce me. And I sure wasn't going to overstep any boundaries in HIS territory by offering introductions. So I got a few, "Are you [The Boy]'s mom?" I gladly claimed my title as such. One boy looked from The Boy to me and back commenting, "Hmm...I thought you'd look like him." I was also updated on my son's scholastic activities with such comments as, "[The Boy] is really smart in our class," and "[The Boy] hums all the time."

I have to say that The Boy has a very sweet group of kids for classmates. They are all polite and kind. Many are funny. And a couple of the girls seemed rather anxious for The Boy's attention. As a typical boy, he was completely oblivious of this point. One girl got my mental nod of approval. She was smart and well spoken without being sassy. She was pretty. She had nice hair (not blond). She wasn't one of those beauty-pageant-wanna-be's. I like her. I will keep my eye on her and fend off any other unworthy hangers on.

It made me feel so good to see how perfectly The Boy fit in the social setting. I've mentioned before how kinder and 1st grade found him sadly outside the social norm. He is in the thick of it in a completely appropriate manner this year. He seems invested with almost all the kids yet isn't quite the lemming I was at his age. I like that. He initiated quite a few interactions (which is a change from last year). And he responded appropriately when kids spoke to him. He joked, talked, listened. All at totally appropriate levels. Man, that does a mom's heart good!!!

I did notice the exaggerated blinking again today. I heard a few audible tics, too. Nothing I'm too concerned about. I Googled tics last night and read an article (which I can't find at the moment to link here) on how most kids his age have tics that wax and wane anyway. So even without Tourette's in the mix, this age tends to have some twitchy moments still. So I'll mention it here due to the implied subject of my blog. But I assure you I'm not worried about it at this moment.

Lunch with The Boy's class ROCKED. I wish I could do that every day!