Thursday, September 4, 2008

First Day of School

I put my first baby on the high school bus this morning. He's not even a high school student yet...he's taking an advanced math class at the high school and then being bussed back to the middle school for the rest of the day. Judging from the kids I saw at the 8th Grade Back to School Event a couple of weeks ago, he's just about the shortest kid in the 8th grade...I am hoping he manages all right on the bus with all those big kids...

I put my second baby on the middle school bus this morning. She is just starting 6th grade and is very excited to finally be in middle school (she even traded her beloved leggings for jeans when we went shopping for school clothes!), and to be one of the 60 or so kids selected to be in the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program. But this year she will have to deal with the whole locker/switching class periods/changing for gym/more homework stuff. Being in the IB program, she has an extra class--Spanish, and she's got band on top of that, so I'm hoping she hasn't bitten off more than she can chew.

Last year's first day of school was a lot easier--both kids were going back to familiar schools...this year, I was feeling a bit teary as I walked away from the bus stop. Well...from Little Mouse's bus stop, anyway. The Barrister insisted I wait down the block (I can't see the bus from the house, and I like to get an idea of exactly when it's coming so I can send him out the door with only seconds to spare on those really cold winter days).

I was thinking about spending the day relaxing, messing around with some knitting, doing a bit of work on the journal workshop (class starts October 1, so I need to get moving). But I'm probably going to spend the day wandering around here wondering what to do with myself and worrying about my babies!

7 comments:

Kristen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jazz said...

Gee...I didn't actually delete that comment above...either the poster did or Blogger did...but just so ya know, I never even saw the comment...
-Jazz

sbwrites said...

Jazz,
I felt the same way when my son started elementary school, middle school, high school, and college. In a way it seemed like the adjustments sometimes were more difficult for me than for him.

He has always been very tall so I knew he would be physically okay (a real consideration at public schools in Los Angeles), but he's very sensitive so I worried how he would feel.

Somehow our kids survive and so do we!

Susan

Jazz said...

Susan--
I can remember when my son was a baby, maybe two or three months old, and he would cry and cry and nothing seemed to help and I didn't know what to do for him. One evening, hubby took over and I went outside and my next door neighbor was out there with her kids who were three and four, and she was sympathizing with me (I must have looked particularly hag-like--that or else she'd been hearing him scream for the last hour). I asked her, "Does it ever get easier?" And she said, "No, it just gets different."

That was probably the truest, most honest thing anyone ever said to me about parenting!

sbwrites said...

Dear Jazz,
Isn't that the case?

Susan

Annie said...

Jazz, Your children sound extra special and I can imagine the feelings you are having as they go through so many changes. Good luck on the prep for your journaling workshop!
Peace, Annie

Jazz said...

Thanks, Annie!
It is a real challenge parenting gifted kids...they question everything, remember everything, and will "logic" you to exhaustion! They certainly keep me on my toes!

The journal workshop is getting close...the first class is October 1, so I am trying to finalize my notes...hopefully it will go smoothly!