Panda Time...Excellent

Our arrival at school follows a certain routine. We walk into the area where Kiernan's locker is, and first thing we do is sign in on the sign in sheet. Then we take off Kiernan's coat and pin his little name tag thing on him. Then we head into the classroom.

The first thing Kiernan does in the classroom, usually, is to locate his name card on the table next to the door and then put it in the box. This is the preschool equivalent of taking roll. The next thing Kiernan does, usually, is find out if the pandas are open. I used the word 'usually' two times above because sometimes the pandas come first.

Kiernan and his friend Nicholas, pictured above, are nuts about the pandas. Nuts about them. The pandas are just run of the mill little plastic animal figures. But they love playing with the pandas so much the teachers have had to essentially ration panda playing time. Some days the pandas are out and available for play. Some days they are not. The boys have become conditioned to this. On days when the pandas are available, Nicholas and Kiernan declare, "The pandas are open!" Not, "Pandas are here!" or "We get to play with the Pandas today!" but "Pandas are open!" Odd, but it has a sort of wonderful lean elegance to it.

Today the pandas were indeed open, and after Kiernan put his name card in its box he laid claim to his panda and he, and Nicholas, proceeded to attack me with the pandas. Fantastic.

Later, when I came to pick up Kiernan from school, the two of them would just attack me directly. Right after school I like to let Kiernan play some with his friends. Just run around with abandon. Get some extra energy out. Today Nicholas and Kiernan, along with Veronica and Jacob and a couple others only wanted to play one game: Chase the Daddy. Since of the two dads there today I was the only one not busy talking on his cell phone, I was pressed into service.

There are no pictures of this, sadly, as I can hardly be expected to do photo documentation when I'm being chased by a gaggle of preschoolers, but just know that I got plenty of exercise in.

After this game went on for far too long, the other moms (and the cell phone dad) gathered their kids and headed for home. Kiernan needed a few moments in the bushes to think about life, and draw in the dirt. So I let him do that. Usually he hangs out in these bushes with a few other kids, like Ian and Stella and Kyle. But those kids had left, so it was just Kiernan. Taking a few moments for himself after school.