Thursday, February 26, 2015

First day of school

Summer was so good to us, but I think we were all ready for a little structure and schedule ("we" meaning "me"). I still don't know which is more exciting for me, the first day of school or the last day of school. Although these past two years I've missed the start of the school year hype. The aisles filled with bins overflowing with discounted glue sticks and markers, notebooks with their crisp white sheets of paper waiting to be filled, freshly sharpened pencils, and everything new. New backpacks, new shoes, new clothes, new lunch boxes, new water bottles, new socks and even new underwear. A new beginning, a fresh start. Instead I had to drive all the way to the other side of town to the one store that carried the specific supplies, parked illegally, tried to keep Ryder from stealing the pencil toppers and breaking the printers while I searched every barcode for the correct eraser and dug through boxes of pens looking for the exact brand and model number. Then waited in line for only about 3 hours. Fun times. And instead of new attire from head to toe, I was rummaging through last year's uniforms that got crammed in the bottom of drawers, shook out the wrinkles and spritzed them with air freshner. And that was the extent of our fresh new start to the year. But this year was extra special. It marked the first time all four kids started school on the same day. I know I should be sad, but after last year's experience with sitting there counting ceiling tiles at kindy with the umbilical cord still attached, it felt a little exhilarating. I wasn't quite sure how to spend my first day. A long run in the park, a lunch date with Jason...but settled on the ever exciting cleaning day schedule. But I did blast Taylor Swift and danced like no one was watching. Because no one was watching, and that was thrilling. But of course I'm always ready to see those cute smiles come back in the door at the end of the day. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I love sitting around the table munching on after school snacks and hearing all about their day. And the good news is, in a few short months they get another whole entire summer break. My childhood dream come true. Lucky ducks.  


Kylie year 8, Jayden year 6, Maddox year 2 and Ryder in kindy. Kylie is much too old for me to trail along to school. I was lucky enough to catch a quick picture (with horrible exposure, not sure what setting these pictures were on) before she walked to school with her friends.



Jayden wouldn't let me walk him into his class, because clearly NO other parents were doing that


Maddox on the other hand...I'm pretty sure he will still request me to hold his hand and escort him to class when he's in highschool. Once a mama's boy, always a mama's boy.



 Ryder is going to be so lonely without his partner and crime. These boys are lucky to have each other.


I couldn't leave without tracking Jayden down and telling him goodbye, even at the risk of embarrassing him. Ryder is pretty much a rock star at their school. With such a small student body everyone knows his name and he struts around like he owns the place as everyone huddles around to give him high fives.



They're doing an open classroom concept this year with three different grades all together in a non traditional classroom. Should be interesting to see how they manage it, all I know is that this looks like fun.


And this one absolutely loves kindy now. He talks my ear off the entire way home about how Jethro ate his entire sandwich, or how Alfie got hit with the ball, or how a cat snuck into their playground, or how Sonja sat next to him at morning tea. I eat up every last word.



He still has his morning routine. He insists that I carry him in, which normally I tell him he's too big to be carried, but these mornings I love his chubby little arms wrapped around my neck. We sign in, hang up his back pack, go to the bathroom then I give him a big kiss and a push on the swing. Heaven forbid if it's raining. It throws his whole routine off and he's a mess. When I pick him up I always find him in the same place where I left him, swinging without a care in the world and a huge grin on his face. A great start to the new year. Even if his shirt isn't ironed and his shoes are stained.


3 comments:

Just me said...

Love reading the "ordinary" of your lovely, anything-but-ordinary life, Jamie. Lovely to see kids growing up happily, in a happy place.

Janessa said...

"With the umbilical cord still attached", hahaha!!! I'm glad he's adjusted so well and so excited about school now. I can't believe how big all of them are getting! Glad a new year is off to a great start!

Jodee said...

I loved this. Such a good glimpse into their lives. Such lucky kids to be getting two summers back to back!!! Total dream come true!