First Day of School

This is how Nicholas wanted to wear his hair to school on his first day of school.

But I convinced him to comb his hair right at least for the first day (and I thought girls were the only ones who worried about their appearances). Despite that minor kink, the first day of school went great. Usually traffic is horrible as parents come out of the woodworks and everyone is trying to find a parking spot so they can walk their children into their new classes on the first day. Pete and I decided to leave a little earlier than usual, since we were going to the new location, which is farther than the old school. Traffic flowed smoothly as policemen directed us into the parking lot (the new school is on a very busy street that is usually 50 mph, but has been reduced to 35 mph by the school, along with the school zone speed limit of 20 mph during peak hours). We eased right into a parking spot and proceeded to drop off each child in their new classes. Of course, Katie didn't want us hanging around too long. She sat right down and got busy. Last night, she had organized all of her supplies in utter joy of a new school year. Andrew walked right in and was glad he could sit by all of his buddies. Since he and Katie are in the gifted and talented classes, they have the same kids in their class every year. Last, but not least, we dropped Nicholas off at his classroom. He walked in with confidence and sat by the prettiest girl. That would be our Nicholas!

When I picked them up this afternoon, things were a little more confusing. I arrived an hour early so as to guarantee I would be one of the first cars when my babies came out of school. I was the first for a while, until people started arriving closer to dismissal and then things went haywire. I was blocked in by another line of cars for kids being let out at another location and ended up having to get out of my car and go and get my children. Nicholas saw me first and ran over to me without telling his teacher goodbye. She looked down and he wasn't there, so she panicked and thought she'd lost him. She went back to the class to look for him and then came back out and saw him standing by me. Bless her heart- I know she nearly had a heart attack by the look on her face! Thankfully, Katie and Andrew had her, too, so we know each other well. Nicholas said the best thing about school was that he met a lot of new friends. Andrew said his day was fine, too, but a little "easy". Katie LOVED her first day. She had a lot of homework that is not due until Friday, but she did it all when we got home.

I am so grateful that I have such a sensible, level-headed husband. When I think of all the time I wasted worrying about the kids going to the new portable school, I feel kind of silly. I was ready to send them to a new school, but Pete kept reassuring me over and over that everything would be fine. And it was. Thank you Pete, and thank you God!