I'm about to spill forth lots of gratitude and brag about my kids in this blog post. And if you decide to read this and venture through all the words I'm going to spill onto this page, it might be helpful if you go back and read about Day 1, Year 1 at the new schools. That post is here: Day 1 at the new schools. It's a long read and I apologize in advance but it will help you understand why I'm so grateful today.
Yesterday was Day 1, Year 2 at the new schools. Emily is in 8th grade, Libby is in 5th grade, and Andrew is in 3rd grade. Because I spent so little time talking about Andrew in last year's post, I'll start with him and his day.
It seems absolutely impossible that my baby, my baby, is in 3rd grade. But there is no denying that he is. He was so excited to go back to school this year. Excited to see his classmates, excited to see his teacher (whom he had for math last year), and excited to have a schedule again. He wore his favorite shirt - the only one that he says is "cool" ("cool" only because it has skeleton hands and a skateboard on it) -and got a new lunchbox. He was ready. Totally ready. He ran onto the bus full of excitement and came off of it the exact same way in the afternoon. His report was that "It was great, Mom. Can I go to Ben F's house? I have no homework." And, just like that, he was back in his routine, happy, and oh-so-darn easy for me to parent. :)
Libby went off to 5th grade just pleased-as-punch that she was the oldest grade in the school.
We have new neighbors who also have a 5th-grade girl and she and Libby are quickly becoming best friends and Libby was so excited to go to school with her today. No worries, no panic attacks like she had before school started last year. Just pure excitement. I had no worries about her at all.
Oh, and we had met her teacher the night before and, when I told him that Libby had epilepsy, he said, "Cool. So do I." How cool is that?!?! Not cool that he has to deal with this disorder, too, but totally cool for a 10-year-old girl to share that experience with her teacher. So, really, I had NO worries about her this year. He knows her medication, he knows exactly what she goes through, and, obviously, knows how to handle it. Best-case scenario for me!
Unfortunately, she got off the bus hanging her head and giving me the thumbs down. "Crap, crap, crap," is what went through my mind. It turns out that a known bully is in her class this year and she was paired up with him during class and then had to sit with him at lunch. And he was mean. Even cruel. She was shocked, scared to tell anyone, and spent the lunch period locked in a bathroom stall crying her eyes out. Needless to say, the rest of her day was just not the same.
Because we knew that this kid had a history, I didn't do what I would have otherwise done - which would be to remind her to stick up for herself, tell him to leave her alone, etc... I did tell her that she needs to stand up for herself and tell an adult next time, but I also knew that we were dealing with a kid that has some other issues. So, we wrote a note to her teacher immediately, got some help and advice from a wonderful neighbor about other administrators to talk to, and calmed her down. And it seemed to work for the most part. We talked about it with her all evening because she kept crying but she went to bed smiling and laughing when we gave her permission to tell him to "Shut up!" today.
I'm hopeful that that was the worst day and it will get better. And, honestly, while I would have preferred that she handled it better, I'm proud of her that she took herself away from him, went somewhere private, got her emotions out and under control, and then went back to class. She did NOT have a panic attack or freak out. She did NOT go to the nurse's office, she did NOT ask to call me. She handled it by herself in the way she knew how. And that is HUGE for her. Huge. So, while she didn't have a great day, I was grateful for how it all went down.
And then there's Emily. 8th grade. The last year before high school. ACK!!!!
(Friendly reminder - if you didn't go back and read about her first day last year, you really need to go do that now for this to make sense. Day 1, Year 1.)
So, 8th grade this year. The last year of middle school. She was excited to go back, grateful that she wasn't the new kid, but still nervous. Tentative even. Because the school is so large, she was in a separate section that she hadn't spent time in last year and was still very worried about getting lost, meeting new teachers, harder math, etc...
She's smiling in the photo above but she was holding herself pretty tight inside. It's probably fair to say that she was holding herself together and trying very hard to not get overly worried. When the bus came, she squared her shoulders, took a huge breath, and walked towards the bus. And said, "I can do this. Anne Frank never got a chance to do 8th grade. I can do this." (Anne Frank is her hero and gives her a tremendous amount of courage.) And she got on the bus as brave as she knew how to be.
And I worried. I knew it wouldn't be as bad as last year but I also knew that it was a new experience again. A bunch of her friends are in high school this year and wouldn't be there and she misses them a lot, she had totally different teachers, her girl friends are changing and growing a bit, and it's a big year. So, I was worried. And had a really hard time NOT dwelling on how last year started for her.
But then, when she got off the bus, I just knew it was okay. Just absolutely knew. Because you know what she said?
She said, "It was fine. Pretty boring, but fine. I'm starved. What can I eat?"
The absolute lack of emotion and drama in her voice and in those words made me want to scream and jump for joy.
I may be a bad mother because I'm so darn happy that it was fine and boring for her, but oh well. I'll take it!
And take it with a whole lot of gratitude for my childrens' courage, bravery, and the utter love for this neighborhood and friends that we have. :)
And look at the smile I got out of her this morning!
Year 2 is going to be just fine. Maybe even boring. :)
