The Screaming Trees were singing “I Nearly Lost You” at the tops of their lungs at 5am this morning. It was dark, and I had been dead asleep. My alarm does this horrible thing called “waking me up” every weekday morning. But, this morning, I was eager. It’s the first day of school for my children and 5am is a necessity. We have breakfast to make and eat, teeth to brush, hair to style, clothes to pull on and get on the bus by 624am.
You see, no matter how well laid out plans are, something always gets knotted up. And if you’re dealing with two girls, both trying to look fantabulous for the first day of school, drama is sure to ensue. This year was no different, but I do see a sense of maturity growing in both of them.
I snuck upstairs and sang “Good Moooorning!” to both of my lovelies, still all sweet and deep in slumber. I was greeted back with a barbaric “ugh” from Alena and what sounded extremely close to a grizzly’s growl from Emma. Seems that 5am is not their best time of the day. Before I knew it, everyone was dressed, packed, photographed and ready to head out the door. This is my 11th “first day of school” being a Mother, but to say that it’s easy would be a lie. I don’t get weepy like I did on Kindergarten days, but when I compare pictures from previous years, I truly get to see how big my children – the wee little ones that I cradled in my arms at 2am feedings – have gotten.
I find myself excited to sit around the dinner table tonight hearing about all the hopes for the upcoming school year. Emma is a sophomore cramming honors class, foreign languages, two sciences, geometry, choir and history into a years time. I cannot even begin to fathom how much discipline this year will take. Alena is heading into fourth grade where crushes really start and little girls begin to grow into pre-teens (Lord help Jason!).
My children think they are beginning their first day of school. I know they are continuing their ongoing education, that truly never stops. But, for now, we’ll just take it one day at a time.