Another school year....
More homework....
More lunches packed.....
More conferences....
Joseph, above on the left, is headed to 2nd grade and James is off to 4th grade. As the kids made their way through the doors, the parents milled about. The kindergarten parents are easy to spot....red-eyed, weepy, and trying to hide their red-eyed weepiness. (Yeah, I'm aware that's probably not a real word...so sue me.) I understand. The sadness creeps up on me, too. Can we go back in time? Just for a day? Can I hold that tiny infant body in my arms and kiss those wrinkly feet? Just once? I'm proud that they're growing up and proud of who they're becoming, but I miss my babies.
Jack (my husband) and I stood near the entrance, chatting with 2 of the other moms. One of them was discussing her daughter's transition into the high school. (In our district, there's no middle school. The kids attend K-6 in one school and 7-12 in another school. I can't tell you how this makes my stomach knot up.) I know that James will be making that transition before I take my next breath...or so it seems cuz, have you heard? Time flies. My first baby boy is already 9 and almost as tall as me. The silver lining in this cloud is that another mom is sharing her experience with us. Somehow, that insider information will make the process easier. I hope. Please tell me that will make it easier
when the time comes. For now, I'm crossing my fingers that the first day goes well and that they love their new teachers and that they stay out of trouble and that they eat their lunch and that they wash their hands at least 24 times (shoo, shoo, swine flu!)...... You get the idea. I'm sure they'll be fine.
The girls, of course, cannot be left out of the picture taking. Camille is on the left and Julia is on the right. As we walked to school, Julia tripped over the sidewalk and fell. Camille looked down at her, threw her hands up in the air, and said, "Not my fault!"*sigh*
Perhaps her compassion skills need some work.
Uh, question. Do you call your kiddos by their initials at home? Oh...... wait..... Bruce just explained it to me. Neeeeevermind.
ReplyDeleteWhen you have 4, it's too easy to get their names confused when you need to yell at them. I'm surprised you just don't call them "1", "2", "3", and "4" -- "1, you get back here right now or I'll..." :)
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, I told her the real reason (or what I think is the real reason).
As for your post - why the apprehension about the 1-6 and 7-12 school? You don't remember the "transition" yourself (walking to the "other end" of the school to attend 7-12 instead of the "elementary" end)? Wasn't that great?
Absolutely, slow down time, give me a minute to watch them as they are! My four already blame each other for things. Who did x? I'll ask and they all point to each other. Scary.
ReplyDeleteI never told you that I think you have the perfect sized family. I've always thought that 2 boys and 2 girls is just perfet, because then everybody knows what it's like to have both a sister and a brother. I'm not sure that I'll make it that far, as I'm already overwhelmed with 2.
ReplyDelete