The Onset of School: Told in Two Days
Monday Night:
School starts in the morning, which means that this evening I need to remember how I’m supposed to run a school night bedtime. This is difficult when there is a lot of “Do I have to?” floating around in the front of my brain. I know I’m going to enjoy having the structure back once I remember how it goes. I also know that 6:30 is really early, particularly when I’ve been having trouble falling asleep until 1 am.
The kids are ready I think. Last night Gleek was trying on clothes and checking in the full length mirror for effect. Patch went to his school open house, where he discovered that he’s grown quite a bit more than most of his friends. I think he’s going to be one of the taller kids in the class, which is a strange thing for a Tayler kid. Taylers run short. While at Patch’s open house, I also got to confer with the two other mothers in the elementary carpool. It’ll be nice to have a carpool again. Last year Patch was the only kid from our neighborhood at that school. I did enjoy the solo time with him in the car, but it is going to be nice to have fewer trips to take per week.
I’m also quite pleased that the school principal greeted Patch by name. He was greeting many of the students, so it is possible that the principal knows most of the students. It is also possible that Patch is remembered because we had a meeting about him last spring. Patch gets anxious about things and this is the school that vividly remembers Gleek’s in-school panic attacks. So we had a meeting aimed at helping Patch to learn the necessary coping skills for his anxieties. Also, I like a principal who is out and among his students instead of shut in his office.
Tuesday morning:
We do remember how this goes. I can feel the fatigue behind my eyes because my body is not used to waking so early in the morning. The kids are going to be harder to wake tomorrow, but they all went off to school happy and optimistic for the day to come.
We had ice cream for snack last night. It seemed like a fitting end to summer. Then the kids put themselves to bed while I went to get Howard from the airport. That, too, makes life feel routine.
There is a difference between the quiet house of no one home and the quiet house of people doing quiet things. I can feel the difference and I’m glad for the space of no one home. I love my kids. I love being around them, but all my hours and thoughts are divided when they’re home all day. With them at school, I can put away the Mom hat and focus on other things until the afternoon. I’d forgotten how nice that feels.
Howard unpacked his suitcase and his brain last night. We sorted through the GenCon thoughts and made notes for next year. This was a really good year for us. I will use some of the quiet to do the accounting. I will also use some of it to write.