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Today is the last day Sebastiaan will ever attend primary school, so pardon me if I get a little sentimental. After the summer holiday, he’s starting high school and it will be a different building in a different part of town with different classmates and different teachers.<\/p>\n
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Characteristically, Sebastiaan is not prone to sentimental feelings and unfazed by the prospect of leaving the well-known for the unknown. Two weeks ago his new school organized a \u201cget to know each other\u201d afternoon for the new kids and when he came back this is the conversation we had:<\/p>\n
Me: How was it?<\/em> Unlike him, I panicked slightly at the prospect of the end of an era. It always seems like there will be more time to do the things you want to\u00a0 \u2013 next week, next month…until you suddenly realize you ran out. Since my kids started elementary school, instead of taking them home for lunch during their lunch break, I would sometimes pack a picnic basket and we would take it to \u201cour spot\u201d at a small pond close to their school. I kept thinking there were lots of picnics in our future, until this week when I realized that no, this really was the last chance. Esther finished elementary school three years ago, Sebastiaan is in his last week and next year he will no longer get one hour lunch break and even if he did, the chances are slim that he would want to spend it hanging out with mom. So, yesterday, one last time, I packed a lunch and we ate it at \u201cour spot\u201d.<\/p>\n In the evening I picked flowers and made three small bouquets for Sebastiaan to give to his teachers today so that they’ll know that we appreciate their heroic effort to pour knowledge into the resisting children’s brains. It is a vibrant mix of annuals and perennials, as varied as (I’m sure) the year has been for the teachers!<\/p>\n p.s. This is how we transport flowers in the Netherlands:<\/p>\n Today is the last day Sebastiaan will ever attend primary school, so pardon me if I get a little sentimental. After the summer holiday, he’s starting high school and it will be a different building in a different part of…<\/p>\n
\nSebastiaan: Okay<\/em>
\nMe: What were the kids like?<\/em>
\nSebastiaan: Nice<\/em>
\nMe: What was the teacher like?<\/em>
\nSebastiaan: Nice<\/em>
\nMe: What did he tell you?<\/em>
\nSebastiaan: It’s all in the booklet!<\/em> (which he does not bother to read)<\/p>\n![\"seasonal](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.growntocook.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/sized_IMG_3840.jpg?resize=750%2C500&ssl=1\")
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\nThese are the flowers in our bouquets: Helisopisis scabra<\/em> \u201cGiant Double\u201d, Salvia viridis, Campanula glom<\/em>. \u201cSpeciosa\u201d, Veronica longifolia<\/em> \u201cBlauriesin\u201d, Sweet peas, Verbena bonariensis<\/em>, Musk mallow \u201cAlba\u201d, Cenolophium denudatum<\/em>, Calendula officinalis<\/em>, Cosmos bipinnatus<\/em> \u201cPurity\u201d<\/p>\n![\"flower](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.growntocook.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/2014-07-03-08.12.54.jpg?resize=500%2C668&ssl=1\")
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