I just dropped off AJ at preschool for the very last time. As of 11:30 this morning, he will, in all likelihood, never set foot there again. I was trying to make a big deal of this � it feels like a big moment for me. But AJ really isn�t that concerned. Perhaps he hasn�t lived long enough to know what it�s like to leave things behind and miss them. Or perhaps because he can�t remember a time before preschool, he can�t envision anything different afterwards. Or maybe he�s just ready to move on.

AJ is totally forward thinking. He wants to know what we�re doing tomorrow and next week. He is looking forward to kindergarten in a week and a half. Next week we�ll walk up to the school and check out the lists to be posted on the front door so we can see who will be in his class. This week, however, will be spent labeling.

Yes, a label-making device (in our case, the computer) is the friend of every parent of a school-aged child. We received a long list of supplies, which we purchased some time ago, along with strict instructions to label each and every item with AJ�s first and last name. And by each and every item, I mean every marker in his packaged of 8 (Basic Colors only!!!) and each individual crayon in his two boxes of 24 crayons. Fortunately, I don�t need to label his gym shirt. But I did need to iron letters on the front (First name and last initial! 2 inches high!!). AJ�s first name and last initial is only 5 characters, including the space. I don�t think my name would have made it on a size 6 T-shirt. 11 characters would have had to wrap around the outside a couple of times.

Something about all this order and specificity makes me want to rebel. I want to make up some silly names to put on his crayons. Or spell his name in anagrams. But I probably won�t, because I�m the parent and I�m not supposed to do that. AJ did pick out blue embroidered letters instead of the traditional flat black ones, though. This made me happy and there was no specification of the style of the letters. Maybe next year I�ll get fancier. What if we wrote his name in Cyrillic? Or how about kanji?

Meanwhile, I�m marveling at (and benefiting from) the order I�m finding at my university as I try to start up my class. I seem to remember spending many hours assembling my reserve reading materials into long lists with publication details, copyright permissions for copies and call numbers. This time I emailed the librarian: �You don�t, by any chance, keep old reserve lists on file.�

�Why, yes. We do. Would you like me to activate it for you?�
�Please.�
�Okay, you�re good to go.�

Time expended: approximately 10 seconds. Beautiful. And this time, someone else has to do the labeling.

Meanwhile, I haven�t had a chance to look to see what the verdict on the planets are. AJ and I are preparing to make new planets for all of his planet mobiles (he has two hanging up and two more currently in process � because you can never have enough solar systems to explore). Those two, will be carefully labeled someday. Because if you can label them, then they�re yours. AJ wants to own the universe.

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