Mornings

So, I'm notoriously bad at mornings, school mornings, even in English. I wake up cranky, crab at the kids, spill the coffee, forget the milk and the spoons, rush them out the door only to have to return to the house and get all the things I forgot. Today, Monday, sure lived up to its name. Montag. Sorry, Montag. Not to be confused with -- never mind. This morning, and most mornings, Barbara was around. She decided to make Schmelzflocken. Schmelzflocken is the closest thing I've been able to find to Cream of Wheat, although as in most cases, it's nothing like Cream of Wheat. Barbara consulted me on the mixture which was very runny, so I added more Schmelz or Flocken, or melted the Flocken some more until it was thicker. The result: the finest breakfast paste in Bonn. Completely inedible. We proceeded to school, the kids and I, walking with their hundred Euros of school supplies, taking the shortcut, which Jenna vaguely remembered, and found our way to the school, where I feel like a first grader. All of D's classmates had their Hausschuhe, or slippers, because it was raining out, which I think we should come to expect. Jenna's teacher had begun a torrent of German. Fortunately, we had purchased the right gym shoes for D and the right books (bucher) for Jenna. Unfortunately, teachers decided that my Guten Morgen meant they should snipe at me in entire German phrases. Eventually, we got them off. Jenna, timidly taking out her writing implements. Dayveon finding his chair amongst the students who are mostly half his size. Yes, it is an adventure.