Back to the grind.......

The First Day of School. What does that make you think of? To me it means the shortest night of sleep ever, butterflies in my stomach and a hurried morning getting back into the grind. I know it means the same to the kids, too.

This first morning was a pretty smooth one. We arrived early, found Owen's class and started getting him settled into his locker. I walked him into his classroom and met his new teacher. She welcomed him to the school, let him know that she was new to the school this year and that they would be learning together. That was comforting to both Owen and I. We walked around to find his desk and as we did, I could see a few teary eyes in the classroom. Kids that had taken the bus to school this first day and I'm sure had the shortest night of sleep ever, butterflies, and a hurried morning. I couldn't help it, but 'Mother Bear Mode' kicked in and I wanted to just hug them. I know that if their Mom saw them sitting there teary-eyed, they'd fall to pieces themselves. I felt blessed that I was able to accompany Owen to school on this first day...even though he made me go back out in the hall with him to give him a hug and a kiss before we left. He wouldn't let me do that in the classroom.

Avery's first day was great, too. It was hectic but

she was very excited and sat quietly in the back seat as we made the long trek to Livonia. Familiarity is comforting to her, it was nice to see her face light up when we pulled into the parking lot of the school. She has a fantastic teacher, the same one she had last year, and it is amazing to see all of the kids in her class after just a few short months. It's amazing how fast they grow up. I find myself remembering back to when Owen was 4 years old when I see Avery doing the things he did in the same program. The first day they read the Gingerbread Man story and get to make cookies. They put the cookies in the oven and when they come back to check...the gingerbread cookies are gone! They spend the class time looking all over the school and the church, trying to figure out where they went. When they return to the classroom after a long search, they find the Gingerbread Man cookies sitting there on their plates. Avery talked about this the entire ride home...the entire ride. I just turned the radio off and listened to her excitement. At that moment I realized that the first day of 4 year old preschool is gone, next year she'll be in Kindergarten. It's amazing how fast time has gone by...

As for Brendan and I...well, we went to the park after we dropped Avery off. I had the big idea that I could get a good walk in at the park, however Brendan had other ideas. I ended up pushing him on the swing, riding on the slide with him and chasing him along the path....of course, pushing the empty stroller after him. It'll be nice to have this time with each week. We don't get much 'alone time' together. I'm bound to get in my exercise too, whether it's taking him for a nice walk in the stroller....or him taking me for a walk while pushing his stroller. Either way, it'll be fun.