Day One...

Well, I am once again able to call myself "Chaplain Brown." And it feels good. It was a great day of getting acclimated, filling out forms, getting "the keys to the kingdom" -- that sort of thing.

I barely slept at all last night -- I felt like I remember feeling the night before school started, whether I was 5 years old or 25. A blend of excitement and nerves all converging at once. Am I going to like my teacher? Who's going to be in my class? Who will I sit with at lunch? Although, as I think about it, we generally ate lunch in our classroom, so that wasn't as much of an issue. (Today, by the way, I feel like I got to have lunch with some of the "cool kids," which was kind of fun, I will admit. Maybe I'll get to be one of the cool kids this time around!)

This morning I was recalling my first day of Kindergarten. Walking to Lincoln School with my mom, my hand in hers until we reached the corner. Then, I looked at Mom with a fierce independence and proclaimed, "Thanks, Mommy, but you don't have to go any farther. I'm a big girl." My mom was crushed. Fortunately the crossing guard, a wise woman, quietly suggested she stick around, just in case. Sure enough, I got half way up the sidewalk and stalled. Then, sheepishly turned around and called across the street, "You know what? All the other mommies are here, so why don't you come too?"

Well, I am not quite sure what this blogging endeavor is going to look like, where it is going to take me. I'm interested to find out. But I believe this will be all for now. And to pay tribute to one of my favorite children's stories... If the stray cat doesn't sneeze and share his cold with the picnic table, tomorrow I will tell you the story of how this blog got it's name. (Uncle Wiggly, by Howard Garis for those of you who might be uninitiated...)