A chéad lá scoile

English below
Bheul anois. Tháinig an lá mhór faoi dheireadh. Ní raibh oiread is deor amháin idir sinne nó ár mac is sine inár dteach nó ag geata na scoile nó ag doras an seomra ranga ar a chéad lá scoile. Bhí an t-ádh linn go raibh sé ag súil go mór leis, bhí an seomra ranga feicthe aige cheana agus bhí sé tar éis buaileadh le Múinteoir M, bean óg, lách, agus cheanúil. Dúirt sé liom ar maidin agus muid ag geata na scoile agus coicís faoina chrois aige, “I like Múinteoir M!”

Bhí sé ag súil leis freisin mar tá sé de nós aige bheith i gcomhluadar pháistí eile agus táimid buíoch as gach éinne i gCranford Creche i Ráth gCearr as an tús mhaith a thabhairt dhó. Ach is buachaill sóisialta neamhspleach é freisin agus sheasann a phearsantacht stuama leis. Tá fhios ag éinne a léann an blag seo go minic (agus seachas an rud nach mbíonn mórán nua le léamh ró-mhinic) ní bean mhór maoimh mé ach bhí mé an-bhrodúil as an lá sin.

Tar éis a dhara lá scoile chualamar a chéad focal Gaeilge a tháinig gan bhrú uaimse. Bhí sé ag déanamh cur síos ar bróga cailín sa chreche. “You know those shoes that have a toy in them? [Me: blank look. Him: continues unphased] Well when she took them off there was a madra in them! A madra!” Mar a rinne Himself cur síos ar san Irish Times an tseachtain seo chaite:

Vinny, whose first child started in a Gaelscoil this week, describes the mix of emotions parents feel. “I was a little nervous. I thought he would be upset, but he was great, and I was dead proud of him when he went in,” he says. “And when he described a dog in Irish at home, he reduced his mum to tears of joy.”

Tá G ag gabháil timpeall ag canadh amhrán a bhfuair sé ar scoil freisin. Tuigeann mise céard tá á chanadh aige ó tá na hamhráin ar eolas agam ach tabharfainn duais don té a aithneodh focal cheart Ghaeilge iontu! Rud eile a dúirt sé anocht agus muid ag comhaireamh na cartanna dearga ina leabhar mór de focal Ghaeilge a chur ag gáire mé ná “God mum, your Irish is really good!” Ba léir go raibh an abairt seo chloiste aige ó duine eigín eile. Gach seans ag baistiú inné.

Agus ba lá mhór é don fear is óige freisin mar gur thosnaigh seisean sa chreche nua. Thaitníonn sé go mór leis an mbeirt acu agus tá na mná sa chreche an-tógtha leo agus go háirithe le cé chomh cainteach is atá an duine is óige. Ar ndóigh toisc gur dearthair é tá sé luath ag caint, is ag caint, is ag caint! Nós atá aige faoi láthair ná deireann sé i nguth an-cheisteach, “What’s that airplane?” agus bíonn ort rá, “Em an airplane?” agus bíonn sé sásta leis an bhfreagra sin.

Agus ba lá mhór é ar ndóigh do Himself. Mhothaigh sé uaigh iad i gceart inniu mar b’inniu an chéad lá nach raibh air G a phiocadh suas ón scoil ó gur dhéan G lá iomlán scoile agus phioc an bhean ón chreche suas é. Lá mhór fhada a bhí do Himself ach beidh a dhóthain ar a phláta féin i gceann coicíse so b’fhearr a scith a ligint a fhad is a bhfuil an seans aige.

Well now! The big day arrived at last. There wasn’t a wet eye in the house or at the school gate or at the classroom door. We were lucky as he was really looking forward to it; he had already seen his classroom and met Múinteor M, a lovely, pleasant, young woman. He said to me this morning as we arrived in school with two weeks under his belt, “I like Múinteoir M!”

He was looking forward to it as well because he is used to the company of other children and we are grateful to everyone in Cranford Creche in Rathgar for giving him such a good start. But he is an independent, sociable little chap too and his level-headed personality stood to him. Anybody who reads this blog regularly (apart from wasting their time as I don’t write regularly) I’m not a woman to boast but I was very proud that day.

After his second day of school we heard his first unprompted word of Irish. He was describing the shoes of a girls in the creche. “You know those shoes that have a toy in them? [Me: blank look. Him: continues unphased] Well when she took them off there was a madra in them! A madra!” As Himself described in the Irish Times last week:

Vinny, whose first child started in a Gaelscoil this week, describes the mix of emotions parents feel. “I was a little nervous. I thought he would be upset, but he was great, and I was dead proud of him when he went in,” he says. “And when he described a dog in Irish at home, he reduced his mum to tears of joy.”

G is going around singing songs that he got in school. I understand what he is singing because I know the songs but I would give a prize to anyone who could recognise even one proper word or Irish in them! Another thing he said to me that made me crack up this evening when we were counting red cars in his big book of Irish words was “God mum, your Irish is really good!” He must have heard someone say it, probably at the christening we were at yesterday where he was showing off to all the ladies by counting in Irish!

And it was a big day for the little fella too because he started in the new creche. Both of them really like it and the women in the creche are very taken with them especially with how chatty the little fella is. Of course because he is a little brother he was an early to talk and talk and talk! A habit he has at the moment is to say in a very questioning tone, “What’s that airplane?” and you have to say, “Em an airplane?” and he’s happy with that.

And of course it was a big day for Himself as well. He really missed them properly today because it was the first day that he didn’t have to pick G up from school because he was doing a full and the woman from the creche was picking him up. A big long day for Himself but he’ll have enough on his plate in a fortnight so he might as well take it easy while he can!