The Back to School Post

6:50 a.m.

That's right, John catches his bus at 6:55a.m.  For most people, that's  really early.  But not for John.  He is up at 5:30/6a.m. with me every day.  During the Summer, that was a real pain.  But now that he goes to school so early, it's perfect.  He was up at 5:45 on Monday and was dressed, ate and ready by 6:30.  He was actually anxious to get back to school and I was so thrilled to see that.  Thrilled because I've never seen it before.  In years past, he was either scared, anxious or totally hating to go back.  I have no idea what's in store for us this year with him but at least the first week went well.  I tried to get some photos of him at the bus stop but because I had to stay a hundred yards back for fear that he would die of embarrassment, the pictures came out totally black.

7:50a.m.

Claire's bus comes 10 minutes after Jacob and Joshua's but I walked them to the bus stop together.  And that's basically how we(Fred) will do it for the rest of the year.  I have to admit, with John out of the house, getting these three ready was a piece of cake.  I already told you that I had the clothes all picked out for the week so that part was easy.  I woke them at 7 and by 7:45, they were done.  I'm in charge of clothes and grooming and Fred's in charge of food and backpacks.  The other way around would be a major mess.  I don't even want to think about it.  Let's change the subject.

7:51a.m.

Joshua was nervous and he told us so.  We did our best to comfort him but it's just something that he'll have to work through.  Poor baby.  But it's the end of the week and he now talks about his "friends".  That's good to hear.

And last week, when I was interviewed by Jessica of Four Plus an Angel, she asked for a photography tip.  I told her that I don't care for photos of where it's obvious that the shooter said "smile!", but I also mentioned that I would probably do it for the back to school post.  And voila!  Of course these are forced smiles but it is what it is.  You got a problem with that?  They still beat Life Touch!

7:52a.m.

Jacob is as cool as ice.  He couldn't care less if people like him or not.  He just does his own thing and if you like him, good for you!  He'll actually say that!   If you don't, no sweat off his back.  He had no problem going to school.  He's pretty smart and he makes friends easily so he should have a pretty good year.  It's his teacher who I'm worried about.

8:00a.m.

Claire and Paige(neighbor) walking to the bus stop.  Paige doesn't turn 8 until later this month so she missed the cut off.  She's smart and should be in the 3rd grade but her parent's didn't want to push it.  So she'll be the smartest one in 2nd grade!  Because of that, she and Claire take two separate buses.  Which Claire doesn't like.

I've never owned a pair of Nike's in my life.

I've always been Anti-brand so I never felt a need to own a pair.  I did have a knock off version in 8th grade that had whales on the side of them.  Does anyone remember those sneakers?  Yeah, they worked for me but the kids in school teased me forever.  I didn't care though.  I wore them with Pride and once the kids knew that it wasn't getting to me, they stopped.  And only then did I wear something else.  I forget what those shoes were but I'm sure that they were equally as geeky.

8:05a.m.

They moved the bus stop this year.  Not that our kids took it last year but I knew where it was.  It was in sight of our house.  So if we wanted, we could let the kids walk to it with us watching them.  We would never do that but we could if we wanted.  Anyway, they moved it to the busy street outside of our block.  Not only was it busy with cars flying past the kids, but guys like the one above slowed down to check out our little babies.   Scary, isn't it?  As of today, the parents got together and the old bus stop is now in place.

8:10a.m.

"Don't look back, Joshua.  It's harder that way".  Yep, he might look like a little Toughie but he's really a baby in the shape of a 6 year old boy.  He'll be okay.  We'll make sure of that.

8:12a.m.

The parents are pissed!  They moved the bus stop to the busy street but after the driver picked up the kids, he turned down into our quiet little block right past the old stop and all of our houses.  But as mentioned, we changed all that.  "For United We Stand, Divided We Fall..."

8:14 a.m.

A scared little girl.  Claire misses all of her friends in Catholic school.  And although she still can see them out of school, it doesn't make her feel any better.  She's been calling my Mom, daily, telling her horror stories of eating alone and no one playing with her at recess.  Then my Mom calls me upset saying that I need to go to the school and talk to the teacher.  I talked to Claire and asked her who she plays with and sits beside and she gave me a whole list of names.  Claire is overly dramatic and so I don't always assume that things are as bad as they are.  But I do investigate.  I've mentioned before that when she was five, I caught her staring into a mirror watching herself cry just for the sake of seeing what it looked like.  She wasn't sad, just curious and made herself cry.  She's an actress.  And the whole world is her stage.  "Applause"!

8:20a.m.

First day in public school.  Hopefully I can stick to my guns and not give in and send her back to her old school.  Which, by the way, I miss too.  I kept the uniforms just in case.

I went to an open house for Jacob and Joshua on Wednesday night.  When I arrived at the school, it was empty.  I then realized that I went to Claire's school by mistake.  Instead of one school for K-8 like their old one, I'm now dealing with three different schools and thousands of children.  We met in the Gym and the crowd was so much that I stood to the side for fear of losing myself.  After that, we were moved like cattle to the children's class rooms.  I came in last to avoid the crowd.  Plus, I like to make an entrance but that's not the point.  The teachers were sweet and professional and that was encouraging.  I was also amazed at the money and technology that the public schools have over the Catholic school.  My hope is that that equates to better learning.  But after 2008, I don't put too much faith into hope.

Of course I brought my camera but I didn't feel comfortable taking any photos with all those people.  The only one that I did take was of the field outside of the school.  I was overwhelmed by the hugeness of it.  Huh, that's something I rarely say!

This may be normal for you but the old school had nothing like it.  Once again, my "hope" is that it's all for the best.  Don't be surprised if you see my kids in their uniforms and back at the old school by the end of the year.  That is, if they'll have me back.

Okay, now for the opposite of traditional schooling, go visit my Friend, Sardine Mama, and she'll show you how it's really done.  Take notes!  Oh, and if you mention that I sent you, you'll get 10% off.

Your Friend, m.
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