AJ started preschool today for real. He was beside himself with excitement from the time he woke up. I walked into his room to get him out of his crib this morning and he was bouncing up and down yelling �School�s open! School�s open!�

We were worried that since he�s been home with both of his parents all day since birth (we both work at home) that he would be nervous or upset, so we�ve been coaching him on what was going to happen to make sure he understood I wasn�t going to stick around for the class. What a waste of time that was. He�s clearly been plotting his escape for months. We walked into the classroom and he yelled, �Play-Doh!�, wriggled out of his pint-sized backpack and took off for the opposite side of the classroom. That was the last I saw of him until I went to pick him up.

I was walking him home after dropping him off and all I could think of was �2 hours all to myself!� And how did I use those two hours? Cleaning AJ�s room and vacuuming the whole house. Not very inspiring; I could have done better. I�ll have to do some planning for Thursday.

It�s an odd thing sending your child off to school for the first time. Up until now, I could count the hours that we�ve spent apart. Now there will be part of his life with which I am unfamiliar.

When he came home, he was tired, sweaty, and covered in sand. There was at least a shovelful of sand in his diaper. I really don�t want to know how that got there. But if the quantity of sand is any measure, I�d say he had a great time. He demanded to watch Little Bear during lunch, and we saw one of my personal favorite episodes, �Diva Hen.�

In this episode, Little Bear discovers that his friend Hen has a secret desire to become an opera singer. But she�s really terrible and has stagefright. Little Bear coaxes her into a recital for her friends (for whom he courteously supplies hats to muffle the sound). Diva Hen proceeds to cluck her way through the �Ride of the Valkyries,� the Queen of the Night aria from Die Zauberfl�te, and the Habanera from Carmen, the latter with castanets on her wings. I�m not sure why I find this quite as hilarious as I do. Perhaps it is that it reminds me of the choir I used to conduct. One day they surprised me at a rehearsal by clucking in perfect 4-part counterpoint all the way through a difficult Debussy chanson.

But also, I love the title Diva Hen. I really think she should become a comic book superhero. Diva Hen soars through the air with a gold lame cape with a giant purple D! She stops criminals in their tracks by tormenting them with her terrible singing! And if all else fails, she can hold her own in any melee by hurling eggs!

If anyone wants to draw this for me, please let me know.

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