Lifeguards

"Mom, I don't know why there are lifeguards on the playground.  There's not even a pool."

-Libby

We Made It!

Moments weren't pretty.  I couldn't sleep last night, and today I boohooed more than once, but never actually in front of students.  A report from the cafeteria was that Libby got a little overwhelmed in the morning, but never shed tears.  Shane later told me that Libby didn't cry, but he did.

As my class arrived on the playground for  morning recess, Libby's class was leaving the playground, so I ducked behind Shelly, our Speech Pathologist, who had just been with the kinders and she reported that Libby was doing great.  Jennifer had a conversation with her in her classroom, and also told me there hadn't been a single crisis yet.  The adults in the building know her and connected with her, putting this momma (somewhat) at ease.

When I arrived home 45 minutes ago both girls were clamoring to tell me about their days.  Peyton said stayed on the swing for the entire recess and Libby loves that her class gets two recesses.  She played on the monkey bars and climbed the entire length of them, "without YOU mom!"  Sigh.  Yep.  Without me.

Good day.  Maybe tomorrow will be easier.

Kindergarten

The start of school is stressing me out this year. After careful thought, I'm sure it has little to do with school and teaching, and everything to do with school and parenting. Libby is starting kindergarten tomorrow. Tomorrow. But she was born yesterday. So naturally, tomorrow feels like it came five years too soon.

Today was "Meet Your Teacher" day at school, and our dear friend Tracy took Libby to meet her teacher, since I'm a teacher and I had to be in my classroom so my students could meet their teacher. About half way through the hour Tracy, Michael and the girls came through, picked up Libby's school supplies and headed to kindergarten. I have to go to another place in my mind while I'm at school, because it's so hard to be the teacher when I want to be the mom. And when thirty other families are hoping to leave their child with a teacher who isn't crying, well, holding it together is important.

As a kid, I was a clinger and a crier. I held tight to my mom while I worked up enough courage to let go. Watching Libby take this next step, even though she seems to be taking it in stride, makes me want to cling to my mom. All those feelings come rushing back and it's hard.

We go to a great school. The adults are caring and qualified. The program is strong. It's more diverse than others. It's familiar to her. It's all the things you want your kids' school to be. And still, letting her go to kindergarten is hard. What if she's lonely? What if others aren't kind? What if she gets hurt and wants me? What if someone eats her circus animal cookies right out of her lunch? What if she poops a super smudgy one and there aren't baby wipes and she comes home with an itchy bum?

See? See where I go? Oy.

I'm armed for a worst case scenario. I'll be ready with hugs, kisses, band-aides, cookies and, if need be, a freshly laundered pair of unders.

After meeting her teacher today she wanted to talk about the logistics of tomorrow and was disappointed that she wouldn't be going to work with me. I told her that Daddy would want to meet her teachers too, see the cafeteria, see how school works, and hold her hand on her first day. She told me she didn't need to hold Daddy's hand and since she knows where her room is now, she could walk there all by herself. I had to explain that Daddy might want to hold her hand because this was all new for him. The truth is, I'm sure I couldn't hack it.

My class starts lunch as hers is finishing so I'm hoping to catch a glimpse of her in the cafeteria or on the playground. Kindergarten, here we come....

Unwelcome

"MOM, HOW DO YOU SPELL 'NOBODY CAN COME IN HERE RIGHT NOW?!?!'"

-Libby

Professional

I came across this little gem and I'm sure it's my favorite picture of the summer. Maybe ever.

Per Shane's own words I'll call it, "Don't worry. I'm a professional in the out-of-doors."

Make no mistake. You should worry.

Addendum to my original post:

This is a photo I took of Peyton last summer at Shasta. And if this isn't proof that we are the result of our genetic make up, well then I don't know what is....

A Scientific Inquiry of Bees

Peyton just looked through our Shasta pictures with me and asked, "Can we go back to Shasta because it's still summuh?" Oh, I wish we could.

The next series of posts will be to catch up with our summuh (summer). (sigh)

There were bees at Shasta this year. Shane took it upon himself to eradicate our campsite of the stinging pests by making bee traps and then taking predictions as to which traps would work best. None of them worked best. Oh, they caught bees all right. When we left for the lake in the morning there were 20 bees flying around our table. When we got back to camp in the evening there were (roughly) 20,000. It was hard to get an exact count from the road. We successfully illustrated a failure to predict the unintended consequences of being a bee trapper....

Orange Soda

Orange Soda Small Opening

Orange Soda No Lid

Observation

Meat

More Observation

Sandy

You know how you know it was a good day on the beach? Check the sand....