1st day of school (nearly a month overdue!)
Saturday, September 4, 2010 at 03:39PM This year our household tally of school-goers increased by two. Davyn started Kindergarten. And I'm teaching two high school English classes.
Aidan and I, the seasoned veterans, both had nervous stomachs and nearly sleepless nights. Not my Davyn. I went into his room at 6:30 a.m. to hug him to wakefulness. He rolled toward me, stretched his limbs beyond the bed's confines and said, "Yay! I get to go to school now."
It has been a seamless transition for him. There are two a.m. Kindergarten classes, and a week before our start date we discovered that his three friends from our church were all assigned to the other teacher. I broke the news to him gently, worried that he'd be upset. Not my Davyn. He shrugged his shoulders and stated, "I'll just have to make new friends then."
Aidan and I are alike, and not like D. Surprises throw us off balance. Nerves surface with the unknown. The first thing he said to me that morning: "I don't even know who I can sit by at lunch." I told him to look for someone else who looked alone. And then confided my fears: "I think all my students will want to transfer to Mrs. Patch."
As I left for my first day, the thought that I was missing theirs tugged at my heart. Yes, I knew that Jim was by their side. That he can pack a perfect lunch. That his Aidan breakdown skills surpass mine by miles. Still, I'm their mother.
By 8:00 a.m. I stood in front of twenty-five 9th and 10th graders in my first period. When the clock hit 8:15 I told them that my boys were starting their first day - that one was full of jitters and the other ready for the ride of his life - that I hoped someone would sit by A at lunch - that I hoped D wouldn't say "I know that" to his teacher - and that their moms were probably looking at the clock with similar contemplations about them at that very moment.
Aidan and I are alike. All nerves at the unknown, but once a situation is assessed and catalogued, we can jump in with full confidence. It took two minutes of class for me to feel the thrill. I'm happy to be teaching.
I hopped into my car at 11:45 and grabbed my phone. Time to report to Jim. The only human I trusted to escort my boys, 10-month-old Azh and video camera in tow, to their new rooms and lives. I gushed about my day. He told me to look at my messages.
Two pictures and two texts.
"Good luck today."
"We love you."
I got home 30 minutes later and got to see this video. It made me smile. And then it made me ask Jim if he had made them walk so entwined. Nope, they did that on their own. And that made me smile, too.
Love my schoolboys. And am grateful they love their schoolmom.
Reader Comments (2)
The video is darling, I love it that they walked so close to each other.