Friday, September 3, 2010

off and running

It's that time of year again.  We're back in school and I'm wondering where summer went.  It's always a little bit hard for me to see the fun summer months end, and a even more difficult to let go. 

The girls are all excited about their new teachers and happy to see their friends again.  Emmy was (surprisingly) a little bit nervous about the change in her life.  The past few weeks she has been throwing tantrums like I haven't seen since she was three. I was getting awfully frustrated with her when my wise mother-in-law suggested that she might have a few worries about going to school.

The minute she said it I knew she had found the culprit of the naughtiness. 

That night I climbed in bed with my little girl and listened while she talked of all the things she had been stewing over.  I felt so bad that I had been too busy to think of talking all of this out months before.  It's a typical third child thing (at least for me, and I said this would never happen).  With my first, and even my second, I took great care talking about school for months before the actual big day.  We went and visited, took a little tour of the school together, and met with the teacher so the girls felt comfortable with her.  I guess by now it all seems such "old hat" to me that I hadn't taken the time to realize it's not old to Emmy.  Instead, it's the biggest deal of her six year old life.  We calmed worries together that night and I (hopefully) learned a lesson.

The morning of the big day I drove the girls to school.  Each year I try to take a picture of the girls in front of the school and with their teachers.  This year Ryenne was embarrassed!  I told her we had to do it, since it was her last year of elementary school.  I guess I will refrain from following her around her first day of sixth grade to take her picture with each teacher!

Other than the fact that I left Claire in the kindergarten room without even realizing she was missing, the morning went over without a hitch!  Emmy had a few minutes of hesitation, but ended up warming up to Mrs. Carter just fine.  Claire, who of course had to carry her own backpack, walked right over, hanged her backpack up on the hooks and settled in for the morning!  She was pretty devastated when I picked her up to go home.  She cries every day as we drop the girls off, saying, "Just in a minute mom?. . .Just go in a minute?"

Emmy says that her favorite thing about school is either riding the bus or chasing the boys (eek!).  Hopefully that last one will change before she turns 16.
So. . .time will march on, regardless.   I guess my only choice is to enjoy each day and wait to see what another year brings. 

School year 2010-2011. . .Ready or not, here we come!

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