The kids went back to school twelve days ago.

Sun Su (our five year old son) started kindergarten at a new school with none of his former friends there. Riding a bus.

“Won’t that be fun riding the big school bus, Sun Su?” I asked as I lay down with him to sleep.

“The bus is scaredy,” he pouted the night before. (Maybe if I told him it was like riding the behemoth Scorpion Tank in Halo 2, he’d like it more. On second thought, he prefers the smaller Ghost hoverbikes anyways. “Big things move too slow,” he’s observed.)

Amy and I were secretly just as concerned too. Our little boy riding a bus every day WITHOUT US? What’s next? Sending him to Iraq?

“Maybe we should meet him at school when he gets off the bus, just to make sure,” I suggested. Just to make sure it didn’t crash into a river or get hijacked by terrorists, of course.

But when Amy walked him to the bus stop on that very first day, Sun Su stopped her short,

“Stop here. Don’t go. I can go by myself.”

And he went. Maybe seeing the older neighborhood kids at the stop made him want to be more independent and save (cute little boy) face too.

Our little three-year old girl, Ooseung, has been eagerly awaiting pre-school for the past year. Every day after Sun Su left she would pretend she was going to school and reading books and flaunting her Hello Kitty backpack.

She could hardly wait. Amy could hardly believe how easily she rushed into the classroom without looking back, when she is usually attached to her mommy’s leg at home.

By the end of this week, Sun Su had adjusted well, following rules, doing new activities, and asking if he could take a lunchbox to school too. (Even though he’s only half-day and eats lunch at home, mind you.)

Ooseung’s teacher told Amy that Ooseung is happy at the start of the day and at the end of the day, but during snack time and sometimes gym, our little girl cries to herself a little because she misses her ummah (mommy). When Amy picked our girl up Friday, Ooseung whispered in her ear,

“No more. You don’t go to work. I don’t go to school. No more.”

I guess the reality has set in. You can’t see your mom and dad whenever you want to sometimes. Our little boy is becoming our little man, but for a little while longer, our baby girl is still our baby girl.

A few days later …

“Did you have a good day today, Ooseung?” Amy asked as she picked our girl up from preschool.

“A good day, ummah,” baby girl says matter-of-factly.

“Did you cry today?”

“Hmm, just a little bit,” she says with a huge grin of tiny teeth, “But I liked gym today.”

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OOSEUNG’S COMEDY LUNCH HOUR

OOSEUNG: Appah, knock-knock.

ME: Sigh. Who’s there?

OOSEUNG: Yoobetta.

ME: Yoobetta who?

OOSEUNG: Yoobetta EAT YOUR LUNCH !!

ME: That’s funny. Again. Now just eat your lunch.

OOSEUNG: HAHAHAHA, appa-a-a-h!

ME: No, seriously. Eat it. Now.