Last year, Lily had a great teacher. Lily loved Mme Nathalie. Mme Nathalie seemed to like Lily. And Mme Nathalie was somewhat sympathetic toward me and our situation here in France. Knowing that Zachary was going to be starting school this year, and REALLY wanting him to have Mme. Nathalie as his first teacher here in France, I decided to go all out for her end-of-the-school-year-teacher-gift last year. I got her 35 Euro bottle of champagne. I laughed out loud at myself as I wrapped it up and walked it to the school last year. What mother in America gives a preschool teacher a bottle of champagne as a gift??? But hey, champagne here is a classic gift and I did really appreciate all her efforts with Lily-and maybe sorta wanted to bribe her into taking Zachary in her class for this year.
Two months later, I had a one in three chance that Zachary would be in Mme Nathalie's class. At nine o'clock this morning, surrounded by impatient parents and fidgety three-year-olds, each of the three Maitresse(s) read the lists of names for the kids in their class. Guess who called Zachary's? Mme Nathalie!!!
Was it the champagne? Was it just fate? We'll never know. But I smiled a big smile and again, laughed out loud at myself as I dropped him off in the classroom. It took everything in me, but I did refrain myself from winking at Mme Nathalie!
Cheers to another school year!
Cheers to another school year!
