School Year 2009-2010

The first day of school went smooth on the surface but the underlying emotions were obvious to me, the mom coordinating the schedule. I was up not so bright but very early at 5:30 to have my own personal time, to get breakfast made and to shower before 6:30 when it was time to get the kids up for scriptures. I had actually laid there in bed for 1/2 hour after hearing Erika get up at 5:00. She had taken all of her beauty stuff out to the shed and was meeting up with Bri to do hair and makeup out there (their own idea so that the early morning giggling wouldn't wake the rest of us up and so that all the hairspray wouldn't kill the rest of us, how thoughtful!). The first day of school is like a whole new first impression and they weren't going to miss the opportunity to absolutely wow the entire high school on their first big day there.

As I was getting breakfast together I heard the shower downstairs and by 6:20 Derek and Justin appeared. Evidently, they didn't get to sleep until about 4:30 and woke up just before 6:00. The excitement left them sleepless, which kind of shows in their pictures.

I practically had to dump Levi out of his bed as he covered his head and whined, "Can I stay home today?". Really? On the first day of school? His sorrow comes not only from teenage dislike for school and getting up early but he is leaving his girlfriend behind since she graduated last year so his heart just couldn't fathom getting up and continuing on without her. Still, he managed to pull himself together.

My yearly tradition was broken this year as I let go of my own expectation of having a picture with all the kids together and just took individual pictures of them as they left.

Derek - 13, 8th grade
He sprayed on enough body spray to leave a cloud in the basement. Hopefully, a little of it wore off as he walked to the bus. This is also the first time I haven't had to tell him to shower or brush his teeth. What power a little crush can have over a guy!

Justin - 10, 5th grade
Looking a little sleepy with only a couple hours of rest! Excitement conquered drowsiness and his school expectations were exceeded. He was very happy to know at least one person in the class before he left that morning and when he got home he was thrilled to announce that they get to sit by each other.

Levi - 17 (and a half!), 12th grade
He wouldn't let me take his picture so I gave him a mommy's right lecture on how this was his last year, I've had a picture every year for 11 years and he won't even be around next year. He rolled his eyes. I took a picture anyway and this is what I got.

Erika Jo - 15 (16 in 2 months!!!), 10th grade
Erika and Bri managed to miss the bus 'cause 3 hours just isn't long enough for Bri to straighten out her naturally curly hair and Erika to curl her straighter than straight that will never hold a curl hair. As I told Erika I needed her picture she just stood on the porch and gave me a quick "hurry mom, the boys are waiting" smile.

Nathan - 3
He was determined to have school so he packed his backpack and after everyone left we walked around the block, did a couple of pages out of his workbook (that had to be purchased at the same time that everyone else was getting school supplies) and had a snack.

Hyrum - 1
With a phone like Levi and a backpack like the other boys, Hyrum was content to wait for the bus. Then Derek left and he started to cry, Justin took the backpack away and he cried even harder, and he didn't stop until we were on our walk around the block. Sometimes it's tough to be the youngest.

For a scroll down blogger lane, and to reminisce through pictures about the old days and how fast they have grown up, I went back to this post: Another School Year Begins

What a big year this is! Levi will graduate, Erika will start dating, Derek is already showing signs of liking girls instead of gagging at the thought of them, Justin moves to the middle school and starts orchestra, after 11 years I don't have a kid in elementary school, I don't have someone on the Monday early out schedule, I have 8 full hours free of teenagers.

That sounds a little harsh but, in my defense, you must realize that I did not only have my 4 older kids home for the summer I had all their friends too! Don't get me wrong, it is just what I want so that I know where my kids are, who they are hanging out with and what they are doing but darn it life sure gets loud and crazy when I'm running my own Jr. High for the summer and the food budget is stretched to the point of plain tortillas to snack on.

In the 7 wonderful days since school started the little boys and I have enjoyed the teen free time so much that we seem to have our own little club. (I'm tempted to put a sign on the door "No Teens Allowed".) It is so nice for the little boys to have one on one, uninterrupted time with mom. We have the freedom to watch Letter Factory without complaints from those who want to watch Hannah Montana and naptime can go on in complete peace and quiet as long as the boys want . Heck, I might take a nap now and then! We've also started our own little preschool of sorts full of colors, shapes, numbers, letters and lots of singing.

The older kids also seem to love the new schedule with 8 glorious hours without mom. Really, I don't believe that's it, just that they thrive on the 5 minute social time that comes every 55 minutes. After the first couple of days of school I asked how things were going with each kid, how they like their teachers and their classes, and I got responses like "it's totally freakin' awesome", "my teacher pretty much rocks", "welding and graphic arts will be cake".

I wish those kinds of attitudes could continue through the whole year but realistically I'm hoping to make it to Thanksgiving before the blahs of school reality set in. Then the holidays can boost us to spring and we will be on the downhill slope to a full summer with a full house of kids. Such is the cycle of my life.