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　　Remember those highly charged first days? They were full of real-life tests where there was always something new to learn, and not always from a book．One of my first lessons occurred on my first day of kindergarten, when I got on the wrong bus－as my older sister still likes to remind me．

　　Life’s minor embarrassments do happen, and I know I can’t protect my own children from them．I just try to teach them to laugh at theirs like I do at mine．

　　My daughter Erin started on the wrong foot in the 1st grade, at a new school where she knew no one．All the other 1st graders couldn’t resist opening and closing, closing and opening their new desks．Wouldn't you know Erin would neither open nor close? She came to find out she was sitting on the wrong side!

　　Even getting around in a new school can be a challenge．Erin's older sister, Molly, almost missed her first lunch in junior high．The school secretary came to her rescue, arming her with the knowledge that while the gym and flex space were next door to each other, lunch was served only in the latter．

　　The first day sometimes has pitfalls for Mom and Dad, too．Once, I managed to stockpile(储备)Molly and Erin's school supplies as they went on sale the previous year．I thought everything was ready for the first day－oh, yeah! My victory dance was short-lived, however．After day one my ladies rushed off the bus, both worried and confused, saying “Mom, we need wide-rule not college-rule paper, and three 2-inch notebooks instead of two 3-inch ones! And for standardized testing, standardized No．2 pencils only, please．”

　　Perhaps my favorite first-day memory happened the first time my two daughters went to full-day public school together, when I was understandably emotional．Erin noticed my red eyes and white smile．“You are happy and sad, huh, Mommy?” Such a sensitive girl! She added, “Just like the time when you were crying and laughing after the car stopped running on the ice and we were OK．” Well, at least I could laugh!