A colorful start

Over the last decade I’ve gotten used to The First Day of the school year being The Start of The Year.  Teachers and the families of teachers know this feeling and know that the first month is always hectic and filled with the New Year adjustments.  The only difference this year is that Kiddo is back and in Grade 1 as well, so I got to see two ladies off today.

As usual, I got a first day pic of J heading out the door.  Here’s hoping it’s a great year and that between job hunting, working, and her Master’s; it’s gonna be a busy year, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a great one.  

Kiddo, however, needed to start Grade 1 with some flare.  So, yesterday, while J was at the clinic getting her physical for her work visa (here’s hoping she hasn’t gotten syphilis or leprosy in the last year) and then taking care of some family stuff (more on that later) Kiddo and I went to the mall and got her hair done.

I’ll not make y’all dig and I’ll just end with the finished product.  

She calls it her cotton candy hair.  She LOVES it and as we walked through the mall to the Tuk home, Kiddo had every eye in the mall on her.  She even gave herself a look in the bathroom mirror last night when she got up to use the toilet.  When we got to school this morning, some of her classmates and kids she knew were out front and they ALL had a comment and something to say.  Kiddo was over the moon and just all smiles.  

The bad news is that it took forevvvvvvver to get the hair done.

We have been talking to Kiddo about hair and colors for a bit and it was her back to school treat, but in talking to the shoppe that did this for us, they said it would be approx 2 hours and 2 people would be doing her hair.  I went in with that mentality for what I brought with us and planning.  That included snacks.  Of course, they were understaffed and busy.  Glad we booked, as they were turning people away for lack of staff and time.  So, a two hour thing turned into a 4 and a quarter hour thing.  

Kiddo was a trooper and her and I chatted and she asked a million questions about what and how and why for the process of her hair.  I wish Auntie Jesters could have been here to answer that for her…. Or to just take over so it didn’t take 4 hours.  LOL

I wish I could have gotten a reaction from Kiddo the first time she saw her hair in the mirror at the shop, but I had a trillion things going on and the place was busy and crowded and they were putting someone into Kiddo’s chair almost before she was fully vacated.  So, I didn’t get the opportunity or have a good angle to get a reaction shot.

Kiddo is gonna be the cool kid with the fun and funky hair in the yearbook this year.  I told J that we need to get a picture of her on the first day of each year and make a flip book just so we can see the year by year progression of how she funks it up for day 1.  

I’m glad we could give her the colored hair and let her have some fun and express herself that way.  Also, it’s nice to send her to school on day 1 with a little flare and fun to her.  We stand out already, we are the unusual ones, we are the foreigners and the ones that are noticeable and obvious; in our dress, attitudes, skin color, hair styles, tattoos, etc, so why not embrace that and have some fun with it?  We do!

Kiddo will have a year.  Some will be good.  Some will be frustrating or sad, as it always is with kids.  Sometimes you just don’t want to school.  Sometimes that math or writing concept just eludes you.  Sometimes you can’t wait for the next day because the concepts are fun and cool and you just get them.  It’s Grade 1 with a 6 year old in a international school in a very different country… There will be moments and J and I plan on just being there, hugging, helping, and comforting.

As for the rest of it, J finalized and booked out Shenzhen China trip yesterday.  So, the October break here will allow us to get into and see a small piece of China.  It’ll also give us a chance to see Shenzhen and see if it’s a good fit, since we know people there who can quickly assist J in getting a placement at a school there.  

China is a different beast and something we look forward to seeing, but I did want to take a minute to give J a glowup on her efforts to book the trip and get it all done.  Good for you and YEAY J!!!!!  Three cheers to you and remind me that I owe you 2 smoochies for that.

Let’s go, Kiddo… First day and we are so proud of you.  We love you, we love your cotton candy hair, and we can’t wait to hear and see and learn all that you have to teach us this year.  We are also excited to take you to China in October.  You are always our middle person and we are always happy when you are the peanut butter and jelly in our hugs and loves.  Have a great year and we love you so much.