Looking Ahead and Reminscing

It's funny how exciting the "back to school" process can be when you're a parent! I remember how excited I'd get when I was younger - elementary and even jr. high age. Then there were the high school years when the summer would fly by and before I'd know it, it was back to the grindstone!!! Remember that? Oh, how I hated that grindstone! The countdown to graduation started in my freshman year, and went slower than all 9 years of school that had already passed! A day was a week, it seemed...

As I'd mentioned before, my oldest son Alex is getting ready for his first year in elementary school - Kindergarten! He's totally beside himself and has been doing the back-to-school countdown for almost 2 months now. Since we're down to only 8 more days, I'm doing the same thing :) You see, Alex is an extremely high-maintenance child and requires constant interaction and conversation. This causes myself & my husband great pains because there isn't really a time when he's just playing contentedly by himself. He's always "there". Most of the time this isn't a problem for me because I'm pretty used to it, not to mention that God has equipped mommies with allot of patience to handle these tough times. But, for my husband who works out of our home, it's a great bother! He just can't get anything accomplished when I'm not around the field the 'why's' and 'what if's' that come from the never-ending stream of Alex's mind. So, I can safely say that once school begins, life for me & my husband will greatly change!

This change will be both good & bad, I guess. Good because there will finally be a quietness in the house that hasn't existed all summer. Morgann, my 2 year old, is very happy to play on her own. Granted, she get's into many things that she shouldn't, but as long as I keep my eye on her, or check up on her from time to time, she's very good and easy! The baby, now 10 months old, basically sleeps the entire day, so he's REALLY easy. I'm not sure how it happened, but he takes 1 nap that starts around 10 or 11 in the morning and ends somewhere around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, sometimes later. Considering he also goes to bed around 7 or 8 and sleeps through the night, I count my blessings :) So, once we get the 5 year old out of the house, getting things done (anything) will be a much easier task.

The down-side to Alex's being gone every day is just that...he'll be gone everyday! Even though he's been attending a private pre-school for 2 years, the realization that my 1st baby is growing-up is a hard pill to swallow. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy about the growing-up part! And, I fully expect to do the dance of joy when he leaves for his 1st day of school (have I mentioned it's only 8 days away?) rather than crying as he drives away on the school bus. But then there's that part of me that will be sad to see him drive away. My baby is no longer a baby!

So, my prayer for him is this: That he enjoy these years in his life and be able to look back at the memories with a smile; that I as a parent have instilled in him a sense of morals and values that will stay with him as he faces 'the world'; that he be a good student and hold onto the joy of learning that he has; and finally, that God be the center of his universe. Amen!