I'm Singin' The First Day of School Blues!

Today was our first day of school. I hate when school starts. I prefer the summer. All these Moms bitch about summertime, being sick of their kids. Not me. Don’t get me wrong, my kids get on my nerves, I hate the fighting that comes with people spending too much time with each other, but that’s where it stops. Summer is fun. We sleep until 8, they eat Bunny Poop for breakfast every morning if they want… I don’t worry about protein. We go to the pool every day. It’s just laid back and easy.

Being a parent and doing it right is a lot of frickin’ work. I wouldn't trade it, but it is also a lot of worry. My husband and I are up by 6:15, getting ourselves ready, then he wakes up the kids as I make lunches. He starts their breakfast while I pack their backpacks. Breakfast during school is a pain. It has to have protein and be enough to carry them through to snack or lunch. There’s no perpetual grazing at school! Once they’re home, it’s talking about their days, getting homework finished, dealing with social issues from school, carpooling for soccer, Karate, boy scouts, making dinner and ensuring everyone is ready for school the next day (which translates to, “Mom! Did you wash our PE uniforms?”). It is a circus here. It’s a lot of work to be a good parent and sometimes the indicators of whether you are doing anything right or not are not so obvious.

But...every now and then… It is the first week, so everyone was up bright and early and excited. I’m in the kitchen starting their lunch boxes, and I pop into Son#3’s room. Today was his first day of kindergarten. Kindergarteners are so cute. They are small and naïve and still sweet. When I walk in, I see Son#2, helping him button his shirt and buckle his pants; getting him all spiffed up and showing him how it’s all done. When Son#3 wasn’t within earshot, Son#2 looked at me, beaming and said, “Isn’t he so cute?!” I was so proud! And to think, minutes later, they were beating the ever living snot out of each other. Hmm.

We got lucky. Every teacher I wanted them to have, they got, no interference or requests on my part. There aren’t enough men that teach at the elementary level. Boys need more male role models. My Mom and I were discussing that today. Son#1 got the Man Teacher he wanted. Of course he only wanted him because Man Teacher serves popcorn on Fridays, but hey, it’s all about priorities when you’re 9. Seriously though, I wish more men would become elementary school teachers. So many kids don’t have good males to look up to and those that do, could always use more.

Son#2 has some twin bullies that have been harassing him since kindergarten. There is a policy at our school that twins are ALWAYS separated, so year after year, he gets one of these dysfunctional twerps in his class. (And before anyone gets any ideas, yes, I have been taking care of this and was about to up it a notch this year.) I had heard they weren’t coming back, they were struggling in school, but then last week I heard they were. That caused great strife in this house and it was time for me to take it to the top as well as show Son#2 some real life applications in Karate on how to take one of these beast boys down. Then I found out today that both boys are in the same class… not Son#2s, some exception was made to the rule, so it was a very good day.

And of course, for Son#3, how can the first day of kindergarten be bad when you’ve known these teachers your entire life and they’ve been waiting for you for five years? It’s like walking into family.

Great day of school. And no, I will not be blogging on school crap every day. Today was just special.

BTW, difference between boys and girls. My boys can’t tell me who’s in their class. It is irrelevant information other than enemies and buddies. If I had a girl, they would know everyone in their class and how they were wearing their hair.