This Stamp On My Hand...

Ask Max how his day at school was and you'll get, "GOOD!"... and then you're pretty clueless beyond that. Even when you try to ask certain questions that should elicit more than a one word answer it's either "I DON'T REMEMBER" or just plain nothin'. In fact, in the odd moments that he does decide to share anything about his day, his little blurbs or short stories come out so completely absent of any context and fragmented beyond belief that I end up wondering whether he was actually at school.

But the other day Max came home with a stamp on the back of his hand and before I could say anything he was telling me all about it... in GREAT DETAIL: "Mom, this stamp is from the cafeteria and it means that I don't have any lunch marks left so you need to buy me some more. You can either go in and buy them... do you remember where the cafeteria is or do I need to show you again?... or you can buy them online. But if you buy them online they charge a processing fee - just so you know. Can I buy snacks with my lunch marks? Because some kids get snacks, but they said that I have to ask you if it's okay first. They have these small chocolate cookies and also those kind of marshmallow-rice crispy bars. Did you know that the fourth graders eat after we do? They start lining up about 10 minutes after we do and then when we start lining up for recess they come in and eat after us. I saw my book-buddy today lining up. He's in fourth grade. But we do the book-buddy reading in the library... on Wednesdays. Wednesday is our library day. We check books out and do buddy reading. I still can't find and Phineas and Ferb books though..." and on and on like that. It was awesome!

So basically, I'm thinking that the act of stamping him is slightly akin to programming him and I was wondering if I could ask the teachers to just start stamping him periodically throughout the day... or would that be too weird?

The best part was that he was telling me about the lunch marks RIGHT AWAY ... and NOT the next morning as we're screeching into the congested parking lot with 2 minutes to go before the last bell. I think I could use this outcome to implement forehead stamping on the day before a field trip ... I NEED A SACK LUNCH TOMORROW! Seriously, it would probably eradicate 90% of the parental migraines.