Back to School

Well, the last child just got on the bus.

This is the part where I usually dust off some variation of: Have you ever seen a middle-aged fat chick do cartwheels?

But it doesn't feel like that this year. Perhaps it's because they're getting older and they weren't so demanding on me this summer. They were just downright fun to be around (most of the time).

Perhaps it's because with one in middle school and one in jr. high, they'll be home so damn early I'll barely get a chance to miss them. And, by the way, how did my babies get to be in middle school and jr. high? Wasn't it just last year that they were waving at me from the kindergarten bus?

Cliche, I know. But like most cliches, it got to be that way for a reason.

So it begins. Both of them in a new school. Another chance to try to get it right. I'm personally torn between envy and relief. I envy the chance to have a fresh start. I envy the chance to meet new people and learn new things in a new environment. On the other hand, I am so relieved that I will never have to face jr. high again. (I never had a middle school, so I have no personal frame of reference there). Kids are so mean. Bodies are changing. Hormones are flying around all over the place - someone's bound to get hurt. Cliques are formed. Exclusion is rampant.

Oh, baby, get off the bus! It's not too late to homeschool!

I can only hope that they find their respective niches, I suppose.

And I can make sure there are warm chocolate chip cookies waiting when they get home.