So I'm officially crazy!

Well, at least I'm thinking it must be, otherwise I would not manage to totally over-commit myself like I do. One look at the calendar in our kitchen makes it clear to any rational person that we have a few too many things going on. I don't know how to make any of it "go away" and I'm scared to think about how much behind the scenes work has to happen to make it through it all.

I am volunteering my behind off, because I believe in supporting the schools, and of course, also so that when I do eventually go back to work I can show that I was not totally resting on my laurels and eating my yummy bon-bons (which is clearly what all of us stay-at-home moms do, right?). So I managed to get into the position of serving as VP for my daughter's preschool board. This one shouldn't be too big of a deal - not too much work for this position, mostly just meeting attendance and a project or two. Then at the Back-to-School Night for John's kindergarten class I managed to sign myself up to be the class parent. Not entirely sure what I was thinking, I guess mostly that I wanted to enthusiastically support the teacher and the class. yikes.

Yeah...so those are two biggies for me for this year. Add to that swimming, soccer, and ballet. Add to that bus stop runs twice a day, trying to squeeze in some walks for me and Kara's playgroup. Before long I'll also be trying to get some more time for doing my website work with my old employer too.

Did I mention that Kara's birthday is in a week, John's follows in December, on top of all the holiday fun. And my mom had major knee surgery this week, so I'll be trying to get in some visits and be helpful to my parents as they work through the recovery/rehab process for her (which is going extremely well so far, so that's great).

Like I said, CRAZY!!! No doubt about it...just crazy....

Another Week of Firsts

So last week was a big first - John starting kindergarten. This week was also full of firsts for us....

1. Kara's first day of preschool - went GREAT and she loved it. (and I loved it too!)
2. Kara's first day of ballet - also went GREAT and couldn't have been cuter.
3. First (of many) Back-to-School Nights for Matt and I - we enjoyed it and learned a lot about what John's days are like and are looking forward to a great school year for John.
4. First time I had to talk with John about bullies. A bus-ride incident with a neighbor kid resulted in a big conversation that I wasn't really ready to have so soon into school. But all seems to be okay for now.
5. First time John cried when the bus came. Wednesday morning, out of the blue, he cried when the bus pulled up that he didn't want to go to school. After so much excitement about school, I was baffled. Got in the car, drove to school instead, and all was better...for now. Today again had a bit of hesitation, but no tears, and got on the bus without a problem.
6. First preschool board meeting of the year for me - oh joy....
7. First drop-off birthday party that John will be going to (tomorrow) - should be a lot of fun. Matt's going to do a Daddy-daughter activity, so I'll get an hour and a half to myself on a Saturday morning. Ahhhhhh...Not sure what to do, but I'll enjoy it!

Anyway, you get the point. It's been a crazy, stressful, and fun week around here. But we're all really wiped out. The weekend ahead is almost as busy and will undoubtedly be fun, but I'm having a bit of trouble gearing up the energy for it! Thus my mantra right now is Power Through!!!!

And We're Off...

The first week of school has been a true success. Besides some issues with the bus schedule that seem to be working out gradually, everything has gone very smoothly. And John couldn't be more happy. While walking home from the bus on Tuesday afternoon, I asked him the standard, "So, what did you do today at school?" His response - "I'm so excited about going back tomorrow, that I can't even talk about today." What pure joy! It didn't give me the slightest clue into what had happened during the almost 7 hour school day, but it let me know that he was happy and had a great time at school. Any worries or concerns I might have had about things were quickly dissolved with his enthusiasm. The last two days after school, he's given me the same response, so I'm gathering that things are continuing in the same happy trend for him during the day.

I am glad to know that we will have a chance to get more of a glimpse into his daily life next week, when Matt and I get to go to Back-to-School Night. We'll get to meet his teacher (again), and explore the classroom, and hear from her more about what kindergarten life is really like. But until then, I'm just thrilled that he's having fun and enjoying his days at school. How cool is that?

The BIG Day

So our world is going to change tomorrow. Not only is summer officially over, but my oldest child goes out into the world, gets on a big yellow school bus, and goes to kindergarten. I knew the day would come, yearned for it even. But now it's looming over me like a dark cloud and I'm not particularly thrilled with it.

He's totally ready for this step. If he had to spend another week at home with me and his little sister, I think we'd all go nuts. He's ready for a schedule again, ready for new learning opportunities, ready to see some friends, and ready for everything else that goes along with this step.

Me? I thought I was ready. Maybe I convinced myself that I was ages ago, so that when the time came I would have brainwashed myself into believing it wouldn't be so hard. I was wrong or maybe I didn't do a good enough job with the brainwashing. I'm a mess inside today. Mostly I'm proud - proud of my son, who is strong, confident, caring, and sweet. But part of me is also nervous - nervous for all the changes that come with entering elementary school - all the social upheaval that we're heading into, all the many things that he'll be exposed to on the bus and in school with kids that are so much older than him. He's still my little guy and I hope he'll always be that for me. He's still so young and innocent (mostly). But that will change tomorrow when he gets on that bus. It may not be an instant change, but it will gradually shift for him and for us. I guess I am ready for the academic challenges of kindergarten, but not so much for the social challenges.

John is a great kid and I can't imagine him being any more ready for this step, but I just wish I felt more ready. Although truly, I'm not sure I'll ever be fully ready to let go. Fortunately the time comes regardless of my readiness.