First day of school 2007

Yesterday was the first day of school. I'm too swamped to process what that means for me as an ITS, but as a mom I have been thinking about it so much for the past several weeks that I'm actually relieved that it has come and gone.

The kids were all eager to get up and get ready for school. I don't like to take the girls to extended day on the very first day of school so they get to sleep in an extra half hour in the morning. They had all picked out their clothes for the first day, so they sat down to pancakes (microwaved) and orange juice, grabbed their backpacks (except Brady- more on that later) and we hit the road.



I cannot believe how big they have all gotten!

The girls get dropped off first. We parked and walked up to the front doors. K.C. will be in the temporaries this year (all 5th graders are) and she couldn't be more excited. She is a bit worried about how loud it will be if a thunderstorm comes through during the day, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. LOL Her teachers seem great, and she is really looking forward to

Abby is in 3rd grade this year, and she is so excited to start the school year. We like her teacher, and are really hoping that this will be a good year for her.



Brady is in 7th grade this year and the first day the kids don't even have to bring their books or supplies - just a pen or pencil. He had already been back at band camp for a week, so he got to see his friends and band directors and was pretty much ready to go back. I knew he wouldn't pose for me, but I asked him to please just give me a smile before he walked in the building, and he did.



He's still a bit sensitive about the missing teeth, but he was definitely ready for his first day.

Now the big question - did I cry the first day?

I've always cried when I dropped off the kids on the first day of school, but in my defense, it's always been a new beginning. Starting with Brady it was his first day of kindergarten, then his first day of first grade, then KC's first day of kindergarten, then KC's first day of first grade, then Abby's first day of kindergarten and her first day of first grade . . . last year was the girls starting at Palmer and Brady's first day of middle school! So this year, no first graders, no sixth graders . . . did Mom cry? Just a little. LOL.

I think as parents we want everything to be so perfect for our kids. We want them to be loved and welcomed at school, and we want them to be safe and happy wherever they are. We want them to have the perfect school experience. And we forget that it is through challenges that they grow. They have to experience teasing to learn to be compassionate. They have to be thoroughly confused to really appreciate the joy of solving a problem. They have to experience diversity to appreciate what makes them special. They have to struggle so they can learn to persevere. And they have to stumble occasionally so they can learn to get back up again . . .

And they have to spend time in the real world so they can truly appreciate how wonderful it is to come home again. :-)