First Day of School

The boys boarded the school bus early this morning and headed off to the first day of a new school year. Do you hear someone hyperventilating? No?

Oh, that was me a few days ago when Drew suggested for the twenty millionth time that we should just let them ride the bus while we were at Open House/Meet Your Teacher last Thursday. Initially I said, “No. I like taking them to school.” Clearly I wasn’t practicing being the excellent wife at that moment.

That was before we learned about all the new rules that are coming into play along with our school’s new principal this year. No longer can we get out of the cars and walk them to class in the morning. If we bring them, we must go through car line to drop them off, and then if I want to come into the school I’ve got to go sign in at the office. Humph.

When I heard that, I looked at Drew and said, “Might as well let them ride the bus.” To which he replied, “This is what I’m saying….”

Since my reason for holding so tightly to driving them in the first place was that I just liked walking them to class, and since I can no longer do this without a lot of hassle, let the county pay for the gas, I say. We figure, gas prices being what they are, that we’ll save close to $50 a month letting them ride the bus to and from school. Plus, if Boo actually decides to take one of her rarer and rarer afternoon naps, I won’t have to wake her up to get into carline. And, I’ll have time to bake them cookies that will be nice and warm when they come home from the bus stop this afternoon. That’s next on my agenda for today, by the way, baking cookies.

Another good thing that will come of this is that I’m hoping the boys will meet some more kids from our neighborhood, and this morning I already met three new moms who moved in over the summer, too. That’s a good thing. And, it will encourage me to get in there and volunteer in the classroom, since I want to be involved, too, since I won’t have that daily connection of walking them in each day. I’ve needed to do that anyway, so it’s all good.

J was a little put out when he first started thinking about how he’ll have to walk to the bus stop and home in the afternoon. Ya’ll, the bus stops four houses down our street. It’s not like I’m asking him to walk uphill both ways barefoot in the snow or anything. It’s a longer walk from the parking lot of the school to his classroom than the entire walk he’ll have to do to the bus. Besides, Boo and I walked with them this morning and saw them off. They can handle it.

I’m just not sure how well I’m handling them getting so big. Still having trouble wrapping my brain around the whole fourth and second grade thing…..