Thursday, August 30, 2007
The kids started school today. We were even ready by quarter to eight which got me wondering how come we can't be ready by quarter to nine on Sundays. And then I remembered that church isn't half as exciting as the first day of school and probably in another week we'll be scrambling out the door for school at 8:03am, which is definitely more like us--always a day late and a dollar short, or rather 15 minutes late and a hundred dollars short. Anyway, I was very impressed with my ability to get three kids ready for school without so much as a hiccup and then, I tried to take this picture.
That's when our perfect morning took a turn for the worse. See, the picture is not black and white because I'm trying to be all artsy and cool like my sister, Kak. My camera kept overexposing no matter where I tried to pose the kids. And then the infamous Stefano (a.k.a. Noah's best friend who is no longer in Noah's class) walked by our house. And Noah started getting ants in his pants because he really wanted to walk up to school with Stefano. And I promised I'd be quick and only take one picture and we'd catch right up with Stefano. Except then my camera kept on overexposing and I had to keep moving the kids around and by the time I finally got a picture that wasn't overexposed, Stefano was out-of-sight but certainly not out of Noah's mind and he was screaming crying. So, the photo is black and white because it darkened the picture enough that you can actually see all three boys and that they were actually excited to go to school today until I threw a wrench in the works.
So Noah cried the whole two houses up to school until we met up with Stefano who had stopped to let his mother take his picture and was giving her the biggest, cheesiest, I love you the bestest smile in the whole world. Only did Noah stop crying and run to join his friend? No, he buried his face in my belly and cried even more. I'm guessing he was embarassed to be caught crying and refused to walk the rest of the way to school with his best friend. So, I did my best to apologize to Noah and did our secret hand-squeezing game and I asked him if he loved me and he refused to squeeze me back. And my heart about broke into a million pieces. Meanwhile Hunter, who has turned into quite the little man and who was probably mortified to be walking into school with his terribly distraught little brother, kept trying to give me a kiss goodbye so he could escape down the big kids' hall to third grade. After being rejected by Noah I decided to focus on Hunter for a second and give him the kiss he'd been waiting patiently for and send the poor little man on his way to third grade. And then Noah spotted Luca and immediately turned into the world's happiest kid and said, "Hi Luca!" And then he turned and gave me a quick wave goodbye as he bounced jovially down the hall to first grade.
 That left me with Denver. Two days ago Denver was sitting on my lap in tears, absolutely positive he didn't want to go to Kindergarten. He cried and I cried and we finally resolved things with the promise that if he didn't like Kindergarten he had my permission to call me from school and that I would come and get him right away. Yesterday we went to visit the classroom and by the time we left he was singing a completely different tune. "I like this school" was his reply after finding his locker, desk and the toilet and after having a chat with Mrs. W about his first day jitters. So today, Denver was his normal happy self, ready to take on the world, or at least Kindergarten. So, hand in hand we headed for KW and I asked him if I could take his picture and he said "no." I can hardly blame him after the morning's events. Then he reconsidered and asked if Faith (a church and preschool buddy) had had her picture taken and then consented to one quick photo with Mrs. W. Then off he went without even a glance backward and down he plopped right next to Faith. And that's about when I started bawling my eyes out. And no one really gets it, that I was crying. I mean, I should be happy, I just got rid of half of my kids. But Denver. . . he's always been my little sidekick. And not that I have favorites, but he's always been so easy to love and so simple and good--he's the first one of my kids that I haven't wanted a break from. So I had my first misty moment as I headed back home, where I quickly recovered and came to my senses and enjoyed the quiet that you can only appreciate after a summer of three boys bickering and quarreling with each other nonstop. And I took the babies to the park and we ate lunch before it was noon and we read books and they all took naps and no one interrupted them and I got the dishes done and started the laundry and by the time Denver got home I was all ready to hear about his day and play him a game of Go Fish! I miss the boys and our way lazy, laid back approach to summer. But I sure am glad they've gone back to school and that we're easing ourselves back into a routine.
posted by Shana # 1:29 PM 
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