1st dAy oF 1st gRaDe 4 eMiLi

Today was the first day of 1st grade for Emili. Daddy called to wish Emili good luck and to let her know how proud we are of her. We arrived at 7:45 am to meet her teacher Mrs. Koepsell. Emili was greeted with a great big welcoming hug. She has a really nice classroom. Decorated with every type of learning tool imaginable on the walls. She has her own locker and desk. Emili was disappointed that she didn't bring her "High School Musical" posters to tape in her locker. We will have to deck out her locker next week! I kissed her goodbye and off I went. She didn't even shed a tear; mom on the other hand was a different story when she got to the car. Kids grow up really fast.

Emili got to ride the bus to Quad Care where she was dropped off and I got to visit her on my break. She only had a half of day of school and was done at 12:30 pm. When I asked her how her day was she said, "Mom, my first day was off the hook". This meaning the following....Origin of 'off the hook'?


I first heard "off the hook" meaning "totally wild" or "out of control (in a good way)" a few years ago. (Example: "We're hiring bellydancers and fire jugglers for the party - it's going to be off the hook.")
Like so much innovative American language, it seemed to arise from the African-American community. But it puzzled me, since "off the hook" already means something else, along the lines of "no longer responsible for" as in, "I did the dishes, so you're off the hook."


She also had a lot to say about seeing her friends from the neighborhood in the hallways.
When we got home from my job, Emili went out the play with Hope. Hope is now GROUNDED...so we aren't elaborating on that. She can't play outside for the next couple of days. The first week of school is always the hardest. Change is never easy. I am really happy that she had a great first day.