As much as we tried to stay in denial about the end of summer, school started again last week. I took all the kids to Back to School Night a couple days before the actual first day of school. Logan was thrilled about having his same teacher from last year, Mrs. Schuman. He is excited every day to attend 1st grade and has already started making a couple new friends.
Lindsey lucked out to get Mrs. Ashcroft as her 4th grade teacher. Lindsey wasn't very happy about the thought of returning to school, but she has been energetic and happy since it started.
Brynlie was very anxious about starting 7th grade. She gets overwhelmed easily with the school work and stresses about the social scene. If only this girl could catch a glimpse of how incredible she is. Those Middle School years are pretty rough though, and even the most well-adjusted kids don't escape the pressure and popularity contests.
Brevan is officially at the High School as a 10th grader (Sophomore). It was surreal to walk through the school with him and realize my baby is almost grown up. I didn't want to hover over him, so I stayed back and just watched. I had to choke back tears many times as I saw him walk up to several groups of friends, and had other friends seek him out. He has come so far since those elementary days when he stood on the perimeter of the playground, wishing he could have just one friend. My heart soared as I watched him be completely accepted by his friends. I even saw him spy a girl out of the corner of his eye and work his way near her so he could start a conversation.
I took these pictures on the morning of the first day of school.
Brevan is so glad to be an age where he feels challenged academically. He has always hated being held back in his learning because the teacher had to accommodate an entire classroom of kids. He has been studying Math for hours every day as he prepares to test out of Algebra 2 next week and move on to Pre-Calculus. He lives and breathes Math, so this is great fun for him. He is also taking AP Biology as well as Chemistry.
Brynlie held back her tears on the drive to school, but had to take deep breaths as I talked her through the experience, reassuring her that everything would be alright. I'm proud of her for aiming to control her anxiety and step out of her comfort zone to speak to other students. My hope for her this year is to make a couple new friends.
Conversation with Lindsey as we were driving to the elementary school:
Lindsey: "Mom, you don't have to walk me to my class today."
Me: "Oh, ok. Why?"
Lindsey: "Well . . . I don't want to hurt your feelings, but . . . I'm pretty sure the other moms aren't still in their pajamas.
Me: "These are yoga pants."
Lindsey: "Are you planning to do yoga today?
Me: " . . . no."
Lindsey: "Then they are pajamas. And what about the rest of your look?"
Hahaha! Leave it to Lindsey to put me in my place. I was elated to walk through the school and see half the other moms in yoga pants. Take that, kid!
Now they are gone every day. How do I feel about that? A little sad because I'm keenly aware of how quickly they are all growing up (and how old I am getting). But I must admit that I'm enjoying the quiet house during the day. I have accomplished many projects that were on my to-do lists for ages, have been able to spend more time at the Cancer Center with Ryan, and have marveled when the house stays clean for most of the day!
I can't say I'm happy about getting up at 5:00 every morning to start getting kids ready for school. I typically drive Brevan to seminary at 5:45, drive Brynlie to school at 7:00 and put the younger kids on the bus at 8:15. There have been a couple days (dare I admit this?!?) when I've then climbed back in bed for a while before I start tackling the day. I still have a few more weeks until my college classes start again and I am going to enjoy every minute. One day I sent this text to Ryan:
"Guess what happens when you have a stay-at-home wife whose colleges classes don't start for another month and your kids are all in school? S#*@ gets done!"
No comments:
Post a Comment