September

Today, in our new district, is the first day of school. My level of excitement is not unmatched by the impact this will have on me. In our family of 5, only one of us got on a school bus today, a tall third grader we call Thinker around here. On his back, a sized up backpack, the one from Kindergarten deemed "too small" - probably it will land itself a trip to preschool the week after Labor Day -

What I want: I want him to like it, to love it, to learn to lead, to change, to nurture others, to be himself, to expect acceptance, to offer encouragement and to come home tired, but not too tired.
What I bought: a 8 box of number 2 pencils, markers (fat and thin), colored pencils, at least three erasers, a highlighter, a red pen for correcting, a 1/2 inch binder, a folder, 2 100pg black and white composition notebooks, a calculator, a pair of scissors and two glue sticks and lunch bag (all labeled with his name, please) plus two boxes of tissue because or last name starts with A-C and A-C families bring tissues in September.

It is not yet September, but that's a technicality. It is chilly in the mornings and in the late, late afternoons. Two yellow leaves floated to earth in the yard yesterday as the children played. There is yet, three more weeks of warm weather, days that will require sunscreen, days good enough for the beach, hot enough for the sprinkler, but we'll not be waking up to heat again anytime soon. It's a rather timeless feeling, this time of year, until I noticed that it is now dark at 8pm. We need our reading lamps in the late afternoon, the sun's rays are not strong enough to reach inside our home and light our storybook pages. In such a situation, one might confuse Henry with Percy, and that would not do.

Still, my days will be largely the same as before. This shift is almost too big to be noticed in minutes and moments. It will be observed in hours, hours since Thinker left for school, hours until he comes home. There will be under this roof, one less child to manage from 7:30 to 3. The younger two will miss him dreadfully and also not at all once they adjust to the new rhythm. Soon I will be helping a third grader with his homework, trying to find a quiet time and place for such serious business, trying to keep the precious colored pencils reserved for homework away from Little Puppy who will want "to homework too" no doubt.

For my dessert/just desserts: nap time. For the first 2/3 of nap time there shall be no one else here. This is the huge impact school has on me. Delicious time alone while children sleep. The Thinker's dessert shall be that the last 1/3 of nap time starts the moment he gets off the bus. He shall have three quarters of an hour of time with his own toys, his own mom, his own thoughts to pour out the days jokes, news, trials and joys. We will see what three o'clock brings today.

Posted for Julie Pippert's Hump Day mmm, a post about school.