we’re 4 days in to the school year. eliza is a kindergartner, micah is a 3rd grader, naomi is a 7th grader.
i did what i needed to to make the morning a celebration. candles and treat cones.
eliza is bubbly and talkative when she comes home. i had to peel her off of me the first day, got to the car and stayed focused on calming naomi’s jitters of her first day. when all was done, i went to church to work on preschool. before i went in, i opened the brown bag eliza’s teacher gave me.
i was a sucker. i wept and sobbed for all that has been that is now done. i just want them to be happy. i just want them to want to go to school. eliza is moving in that direction. she likes it when she gets to the room, she says. and she loves her teacher.
micah looked forward to seeing his friends again. the school is small, so with one class per grade (except this year they’ve added another 1st grade), micah looks forward to knowing who his classmates will be. micah summed it up perfectly today: the worst part of the day is going from home to school. when i get there i love it.
for the second day of school they were invited to bring international money. in the early morning hours he ironed money from iraq, colombia and indonesia. he had coins from canada and brazil as well. micah slept with that bag of money last night…reminding him of many special people.
dear naomi has switched schools again. she grew to love her old school, a building that housed the town high school way back when. the move to a more modern building across town causes her to use words like “lonely” and “not cozy.” she liked being able to look out the windows at her old school and see downtown. now she sees grass. my guess is that will eventually be a comfort too.
we made lists to try and keep perspective of what was needed and what had to be done. there seem to be more questions every day, but that makes sense to me. i will welcome the time that naomi settles in with peers who support her and give her a sense of home. she ended her first day of school with a skype date with dear lydia…hundreds of miles away.
jerry is in the throws of figuring out another year with well over a hundred students of his own. i can’t imagine trying to teach children who don’t want to be there.
i have a week until preschool is up and running. my days are easily filled with getting ready and i am grateful to find myself energized by that work.
what i am not energized by is a stomach bug that won’t leave. better, but not normal.
prairie daze 
Oh, my friend, I am a sucker right along with you. Beautiful sweet children, off in the world.
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Oh my.
So Naomi is at the High School now????
I don’t see Sally in any of the pics….how is she coping with the empty house?
Hugs to you all – hope your year is amazing!
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Just so you know, not ALL of Jerry’s kids don’t want to be there! Can you believe my Ashlynn, that you had in preschool just a few short years ago, is now a freshman in high school with “Mr. Epp” as her biology teacher?! She thought the connection was “cool”. I seriously don’t anticipate her being any trouble…but if she is, you can tell him where to find me! :)
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The heartless march of time. It seems like just yesterday I took Ben to kindergarten class for the first day and was handed that same care package. I cried too.
I would absolutely love to grab a sofa and a cup of tea and talk about our 7th grade girls for a couple hours. Today we had our first leg-shaving lesson. Everybody said this time would be a nightmare, but so far – SO FAR – I enjoy her as much or more than ever. Maybe that’s because, for some reason, God hasn’t let me forget what being a 7th grade girl felt like. (I can’t remember to pay bills, but jr. high, THAT I remember – nice, huh?) How is Naomi, and how are you?
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Wow! Micah is a third grader already?!?!
If he was here, he would be my student. Imagining that would be so much fun. Would you tell him that?
And he brought Indonesian money today?? that makes it more precious. I miss him and the two girls.
Oh, how Eliza grows so big (especially with her sneakers)and Naomi is tall and firm (which i like).
Wishing you well on your first week getting back to school (kids) and letting them go to school again (mr. and mrs.Epp) :)
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look at that pack of tall, school kids!!!! striking, and i can still see each of their baby faces right there sitting atop a big kid body.
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So I always feel guilty when I read about these parents who spend long hours prepping their kids and then have these dramatic releases. I don’t ever remember taking my kids their first day or even taking their pictures–I was in my own classroom freaking out about all the kids who were coming in. I’ve always been a “be glad you have new underwear now ride your bike and suck it up” kind of mom. I need to be more nurturing. I wonder if my kids are screwed up because I lack these first day skills with rituals…
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I want to be more “be glad you have new underwear now ride your bike and suck it up.”
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I love your hex sign.
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