A few weeks ago our baby started his school and since then we’ve been buzzing around getting things ready for our 11 year old to start middle school. So after much preparation and double checking our supply lists, that day came, and boy was everyone excited!
The morning started off like any other, with getting Jess out the door in time to get to her school by 7:30 and me getting BLT Jr up and fed and out the door to get to his school by 8. Today, however we had one more task to mark off our checklist. Chase had to get to the bus stop by 8:30 and he didn’t want to miss it on his first day. Now I’ll go ahead and preface this with the fact that Chase is a bit of a nervous kid when it comes to new things. Something of this magnitude was like on another level.
For the past few years he had been in the same school where his mom taught. If ever anything were to come up, he could always just go right down the hall and get it resolved or taken care of. He wasn’t going to miss a bus or be late, unless she was. They were together and when he didn’t have her, he had his friends. Chase had built relationships with a lot of kids over the past few years and all that was about to change. This was a new school, in a new county, with new procedures, teachers, kids, everything. Walking in yesterday, Chase didn’t know a soul (other than the friend he made over the summer).
Jess was a bit nervous prior to yesterday, and in fact she stayed nervous throughout most of the day. However, I knew otherwise. I drove Chase to the bus stop just… you know, because that’s what parents do. I did make sure to park a good distance away so that I wouldn’t interfere with the establishment of social hierarchy. What happened when Chase got out of the car was a masterpiece! He had his notebook in one hand and as soon as he got out an 8th grader tossed him a football. Rather than duck or fumble it, Chase caught it like a boss and kept on walking over to the group of kids that were there. I couldn’t have been more proud and I knew that things were gonna be just fine. I sat there for a few more minutes until the bus showed up. Chase lined up with the rest of the kids, boarded his chariot and was whisked away to his next adventure. His mom and I pondered throughout the day how things were going. She had made sure he had a “cheat sheet” with all his bus numbers and home room numbers and such on it, so he was good to go, but you never REALLY know unless you’re there.
When Chase got home that afternoon, the flood of information began. And let me say, I don’t recall ever seeing this kid so excited about something. He was gleaming and literally couldn’t contain himself. Ear-to-ear smiles and chatter about his day. From the lunch to the “freedom” between classes, to the gym, it was all he could think about. He wanted it to be day two already! That’s the thing about Chase, this kid LOVES learning and being in school. He is super smart and bright and willing to learn. He is genuinely eager to excel in class. At school, he made sure to write important things down and get lists of what he needed on day two. He actually had a chance to be in class with the friend he made over the summer so he was at ease with that. This young man had a blast!
So that was day one and it was a success! The next day (today) Jess started her first day of teaching in a new school, so stay tuned for a post about that. In the past three weeks we’ve since shipped off three family members to three schools! Its craziness! Things are certainly changing around here with new schedules and routines, but change doesn’t necessarily mean a bad thing. Stay tuned for most posts on how things are progressing!
