Then and Now



Nicole started school this week on Monday, January 31.  Larry took her to the train on his way from home and off she went.  But not before I forced her to pose for the official First Day of School Photo.

The Pymble Ladies College uniform is very neat and attractive.  The skirt is a dark blue and green tartan; the shirt is crisp white with green piping.  The hair must be worn pulled back. No jewelry or makeup.  The socks must be the dark blue with green trim, and the shoes are the standard Australian school shoes - black lace ups.  Nicole does not have a hat because they are stuck in a warehouse in Queensland by the floods.  When they come in, she'll add a white boater to the look, trimmed in dark green.  For winter wear, there is a navy and green jumper (sweater) and a navy blazer.  For rainy days, there is a blue umbrella.  Nicole carries the standard PLC backpack and uses the standard PLC sport bag.  Eventually, she'll purchase the PLC track suit and sport uniform.  Despite the push to conformity, I have to say I think she looks wonderful in the outfit.  As she left the house, I completed the First Day of School routine by tearing up.  On her first day of Kindergarten, I cried.  And on every successive first day, I've continued the water-from-the-eyes pattern.

It's hard to imagine that this little girl has grown up into the lovely young woman who is now attending high school in Australia!

At the end of her first day, we trekked off to the doctor to see about the fainting business.  Long story short...low blood pressure. 90 over 60.

After much consideration and discussion, we've opted to follow the Australian path of choosing subjects that are interesting and that the student may be pursuing at university.  Nicole already likes Legal Studies!

Of course, with Nicole at school, that leaves my days wiiiiiiiiiide open.  I've gotten a fair amount of work done for both my company (NEOS) based in Hartford and my client (Poly-Med) based in South Carolina. And there's always laundry or dishes to be done.  I think I'll go see The King's Speech one of these mornings.  The small groups at church will be starting up shortly, so that will also get me out of the house and meeting people.

The walks to and from the train station are killer this week, as the temperatures are well over 90 degrees and the humidity is no help.  It's quite a kick to see all the little ones in uniforms getting off the trains in the afternoon!