Cleaning Day

Our arrival in Berlin was as soft as it probably could have been and yet still everything seemed to take 2 or 3 times the amount of time that it did while we were in Seattle.  It took me many months to feel settled here and to start volunteering and being involved in school the way I was back home.  Earlier in the year I had signed up to do classroom clean up and I had forgotten to go and was called out publicly via the class email list.   I vowed to redeem myself at my next schedule classroom clean up. 

My clean up day happened to be at the end of the week that Marty was in Seattle.  I could have gone to clean just after drop off while the class was at Sport or I could come after school, with Benjamin to help, and do it then.  I asked Benjamin what he

preferred, totally assuming he wouldn't want to help. But to my surprise he said he wanted to do it with me. 

So I arrived, rather proudly that I DID NOT forget this time.  Benjamin happily pushed the broom and washed down the table tops and helped me put the chairs back up.  I had a bit more to do and so he went up to the library and checked out a book from the library and then cuddled up in the reading corner of the classroom and read his new book.  

There is something so comforting about both the kids classrooms here.  There is something more homelike, more belonging, more this is MY space.  I can't really put my finger on it but there is something uniquely special.  I'm not sure if it is just JFK or Berlin schools in general, but it is different and better in this way.  

His friends helped with the garbage dumping at the end of our clean up and we all left happy - me, mostly for NOT forgetting.  Yay!!  It feels good to be *somewhat* on top of your game!!

After clean up his friends played for a bit on the playground before Lacrosse practice.  Josie met us in the gym and we walked down to our favorite (and really only) Mexican food restaurant for a tasty burrito and then we watched a movie and celebrated our successful solo week!

His laughter is contagious and I wish I had a video of him giggling away.
One to the left of me and the other to the right.  Such a comforting, cuddly night