Back To School

Tonight I was sitting in a Thai restaurant waiting for takeout, and a family with three little girls was eating nearby. The father had apparently spent time in Thailand, and was introducing them to the cuisine for the first time.

During the wait, I enjoyed hearing the girls asking questions and exclaiming over the food. At one point I heard, "This is the best chicken ever!" and the mom started laughing; when asked why, she explained that it was calamari, not chicken. Which the girls didn't freak out about.

Reminded me of a little girl I used to know who, when they were asked to do the "About Me" thing in first grade, put "Tom Kha Gai*" instead of "pizza" or "spagety" or "hambergers" for her favorite food. And (until she became vegetarian), Katie would at least try anything we offered her.

And it was sixteen years ago this week that we walked her to the bus stop for kindergarten. Anita was snapping pictures, I was running the obligatory video camera (Hi-8—state of the art!). After the hugs and kisses, we watched her little head travel slowly to the back of the bus, then return all the way to the front. The driver opened the door and a somewhat bewildered Katie explained that there were no available seats!

I forget what we did about it; I assume we jumped in the car and drove her that day. I know Anita talked to the school about getting a bigger bus, and they did. Our stop wasn't the last on the bus run, so I'm sure we weren't the only ones!

Gosh, that was a long time ago...

* Tom Kha Gai is a Thai soup made with chicken broth, coconut milk, galanga (aka "galangal", a ginger-like root), cilantro, lemon grass, straw mushrooms, kaffir lime leaves, and chicken. Pure comfort food, especially with some rice thrown in! (Linguistic note: Tom = boiled, thus soup; Kha = galanga; Gai = chicken)