I don't know about you, but I'm with the Yarn Harlot on Fall being the real beginning of the year. This year in particular, Fall brings a very "new" year for us. William is in 6th grade, not yet in the Middle School but we can see it coming. Rachel is a sophomore at the High School, that odd year between being a freshman and really being an upperclassman. And JC is away at college. There are a few adjustments inherent in that statement.
1) I am not in the least bit old enough to have a college freshman. I only play at being an adult, how did this happen?
2) Likewise, he can't possibly be old enough, I REMEMBER going off to college and I was much older than he is (never mind that my calendar age was actually almost a year younger).
3) We are a family of 5 - in fact, on the way home from dropping him at school, we stopped for lunch and John was arguing that the server had forgotten a drink on the tray. There were only 4....oh, wait.
(I will admit that #3 does make it easier to get a table at restaurants, but I digress.)
We are slowly adjusting to his absence. I haven't cried, though I have worried off and on. I've tried very hard not to text/call him too often, though the weirdness of not having daily contact and knowing what he's up to is still pretty fierce. I'll even admit that I've missed him most during band camp, as last year he was driving himself and his sister to every practice. And Rachel will surely miss him more as she waits for the bus tomorrow morning - she didn't ride the bus once last year.
Tomorrow the other two start school. (There might be a very discrete happy dance from this mom). I'm looking forward to a more settled routine, football games and marching band, discussing books with Rachel and hearing William get better on the trumpet. I'm even almost looking forward to helping with homework since Rachel is taking Chemistry and it was my favorite subject. We'll see how much I remember...
I'm not looking forward to nagging about homework and bedtime, and getting up at the crack of dawn, but it all goes together. And I'm sure by May of next year, I'll be counting down the days, looking forward to summer again.
3 comments:
The summer went way to quick for me! I was already back home at 6.40am, dropping Calum off at the bus and Gillian had driven in. A very quiet house right now. Oh well - at least we get a lie in tomorrow!!
I completely agree with you: the year starts when the kids head back to school.
Your feelings about having a kid gone to college are such a perfect blend of "this is how it should be" and "WHAAA?" and melancholy. I'm sure I'll feel the same way in a few years.
Sigh.
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