Last of the Summer: Whine!

Well this is it. Just sent the kids to bed as it is the first day of school tomorrow. They are of course ready to see the friends they didn't see over the summer and, as they are both pre-teens, I am somewhat relieved to have them not together all the time, getting on each other's nerves.

I remember this day last year. I was coming out of the girl child's school when I smiled at the lady who'd come out just before me. She had paused a moment and was enjoying a large to go container of coffee. She gave me a wry smile in return and said simply, "Best day of the year."

While I wouldn't go that far, I think most parents can understand her sentiment and I was glad she found her own humor in the situation. Beats the heck out of those teary, clingy episodes on the first day of kindergarten.

It'll be nice to have both kids in the same school now that they are both middle schoolers, but as you'll recall from my emotional farewell to the elementary school, it'll be an adjustment for us all. I know they'll do fine because they always have, even when we moved them around a lot. Now that they are settled and together, perhaps they'll find that seeing each other part-time is a nice compromise between being in different schools all day and spending the entire summer planning each other's demise.

So it's our first early wake-up call in three months. (A full hour earlier than the get-used-to-middle-school classes we took the girl to a few weeks back.) I've already primed and pre-prepared all the breakfast stuff, they've taken their showers, and (supposedly) have everything they need by the door.

But you know something will be squirrelly: "Mom, I can't ride my bike while carrying this sax", "Mom, these new socks gave me a rash because I forgot to wash them first", "Mom, one of the dogs peed on the floor", "Will you people please eat your breakfast", "Oh my gosh, my bike tire is deflated", "Where the heck did I put the house keys"...and all the other things I cannot foresee. (Like, no lie, hubby just said "Hey, I just heard a bear across the street.")

But we'll eventually get out the door, onto our bikes, and take the obligatory "first day photograph". I wonder if this one will feature an extra character, a big dark blur of a thing in the background, which we'll hear clearly saying "Rrrroooaaarrrr!" Hell, we may make it to school in record time.