Going to School

From the eyes of Ava, interpreted by her mommy...

Some mornings my mom comes into my room, opens up the windows and sings our morning song.  She says it is time to wake up so I can go to school.  Some mornings I do not really wanna wake up.  But my mom pulls my legs out from my blankets, and starts putting on my socks.  My clothes are always chilly in the morning and I do not like it.  Most days I do not really like the clothes my mom puts on.  I want to wear my ballerina dresses and jelly shoes to school every day.  But mom always says it is too cold to wear my dresses.  Ugh.  Then my mom asks me what I want my hair to do today...lately I always want two braids.  Sometimes I like a high bun.  I do not like her to brush my long hair...it always hurts to get the knots out.  But mom says she will cut off all my long hair if I do not let her brush it.

Then we go into the kitchen and I ask to have chocolate for breakfast.  It never works.  Mom gives me cereal, but all I want to do is drink the milk.  Mom goes to get her clothes on, and I sit in the kitchen and play (even though I should be eating my cereal).  Sometimes the cats come into the kitchen and want food.  Sometimes they want to go outside.  It is hard to open the door to the garden, but I try to turn the key so the cats can go outside.  Gordi is the fat cat.  Trillo is the skinny cat.  Bella Trilly is the mommy cat.  Junior is the crying cat who lives outside.  I really like all of our cats.

Mom comes to tell me it is time for shoes and jackets.  She gets out my stroller and I make her get me a sippy cup of juice and my blankie for the ride to school.  She tells me to hold my sleeves to put on my sweater and fuzzy vest.  I hate when my sleeves get all bunched up in my sweater!  I ask for my scarf my Auntie Laura made me and I put on my bear gloves and my fingers always go in the wrong holes.  Ugh.  Then mommy buckles me in the stroller and we are ready to walk to school.

Most mornings there are lots and lots of cars on our street.  I yell at them when they get too close.  I like to say the Italian names of the colors for all the cars parked on the street.  Sometimes I forget the color green, so I have to ask my mom.  There are a lot of blu cars...and a lot of rosso cars...and I like to say their colors.  We go on the really bumpy sidewalk.  Sometimes there is lots of dog poo on the sidewalk, and one time my mom rolled over it with my stroller.  That was really stinky.  I like to put my hands out and touch the light poles when we go close to them.  Sometimes I try to pull the tall plants by the sidewalk that get in my face and I yell at them "Vai!" and "Basta!"

We go by the big bus stop.  Sometimes there is a bus sitting there, sometimes there is not.  But then I know the big dog is coming.  At the gas station by the bus stop, the big black dog is there with the lady.  Sometimes other grown ups are there talking with the lady, but I just like to see the big black dog.  I yell when I see the black dog, and he always looks at me!  Mommy pushes the stroller past the big dog, but always slows down.  One time he tried to sniff my hand.  We always say "Buongiorno!  Ciao cane!" and the lady says "Buongiorno" too.

After the big dog, I look for the two green bottles of water.  For some reason people leave two big plastic bottles of water outside their door of their house.  I always ask my mom why they do that.  She does not know, she says.  I think it is funny to keep water outside in those two green bottles.  Then we keep walking and I drink my juice from my sippy.  Mom only lets me use sippys when I am going to school.  Then we see the old lady standing in her door way.  I am not sure if she likes me.  She always stands by her door, looking for someone.  I do not know who she is waiting for.  But my mom says "Buongiorno" to her, and she looks at me and says something in Italian.  My mom says she told me I was beautiful.  But I do not know if I like her. 

We keep going on the bumpy sidewalk.  Sometimes there are old ladies who are still in their pajamas who are walking too slow on the sidewalk.  They have bags of trash in their hands.  Mom goes around them.  Then we go by the car shop.  Sometimes it is really loud, and mom says they are fixing cars there.  Lots of guys are standing on the sidewalk and move out of the way when they see me.  Mom pushes me faster.  Then we come to the really small road.  Sometimes the cars drive on the sidewalk, and I yell at them to move!  We go by the store with the computers and look for the brown dog.  I think sometimes he stands in the doorway, and sometimes he is sleeping in the store.  I say "Ciao cane!" to him too.  He always looks tired. 

There is a lady who walks by me every day.  She looks serious, and does not smile at me.  Then we see the old man with a green bag.  He has legs like the old man in the bank at the end of Mary Poppins.  He stops so we can go around him...and I think he smiles at me.  I do not like the old man in Mary Poppins, but I like this old man with the green bag.  When we are almost to my school, my mom crosses the street with lots of cars.  We get to my school and I take one more sip of juice.  My mom takes me out of the stroller, and rings the bell for the door.  I like to hop up the 8 steps and the old lady in the office always says "Ciao bellissima!"  She wears a funny black dress and a big black hat that goes over her shoulders. 

Then my mom takes me to my classroom.  We go to my cubby and take off my coat, gloves, scarf and sweater.  I go into my classroom and my teachers say "Good morning, Ava!"  I give my mom a big hug and a kiss on both her cheeks.  I ask if I can stay with the kids for lunch.  Most of the time my mom says yes.  I give her another big hug and say "Ciao mama, I will be a good girl to stay at school with my teachers!" and then my mom says she loves me and goes away.  I do not know how to speak Italian, but my mom says I am learning.  All the other kids speak Italian.  My teachers speak a little English.  But I like going to school.  I will ask my mom if I can go to school tomorrow.