This week marks one month into middle school for us. This has been a challenging transition for us, but we are starting to get the hang of things. Though it seems my girls have grown a year in just four short weeks!
The transition to riding the bus has gone smoother than I expected. Short of the bus blowing past us the first day and still not being able to get our house--not the house catty-corner across the street that has not had children living in it for four years--registered as a stop, the redheads seem to at least enjoy riding the bus. There aren't a whole lot of kids out our way, so it's not very crowded, and they have a few friends who also ride the same bus with them.
We had the school Open House last week, and since the girls don't have any classes together, Benny went with Sarah while I went with Olivia. I really wished I could have met all Sarah's teachers, too! It's a new type of juggle for the girls as they have "A" day, with four classes, and "B," with four other classes, eight classes in total. Olivia has PE twice, and though initially neither she nor I liked that, she loves it now since it comes at the end of both A and B days and she gets to get out and play. She has dealt with a bit of bullying in the locker room, but hopefully we've given her the tools to work through that.
Sarah has struggled with her math teacher, but she's starting to warm up to him. At the open house, Benny said he told the parents, "I'm sure your kids have told you that I'm the meanest teacher at the school," so at least he knows he has a bit of a reputation! I didn't get a chance to interact with him, but Benny felt like things were going to work out well in the long run. At a minimum, Sarah will know her math! I met Olivia's math teacher and she seems to be the antithesis of Sarah's, very nurturing and caring, which is what Livvie needs since she struggles with math to begin with.
As for me, there've been some bonuses and some struggles. I've had to change my work schedule to accommodate waiting for the bus with the girls. On the upside of that, I've been able to work my early morning power walk back in thanks to the later schedule; on the downside, I don't get home until 6:30pm or so. I look at my girls and they look so damn grown up: the things they say, the way they carry themselves, the way they snuggle together on their tablets absorbed in each others' MineCraft worlds. Seems like 20 years old is just around the corner in this picture, taken on the first day of our visit to St. George Island last month. I even catch myself checking out cars, wondering what type of car will be best for them! And wondering how we are going to afford two cars and two kids in college! (They may just be sharing a car...) Yes, they are only in middle school, but at this rate, it feels like they will be driving tomorrow.
I tell ya, this mama stuff is hard work, isn't it Mamas? I wouldn't trade it for the world, but there are days that my heart feels like it's going to explode from all the love I carry around for these girls. My hopes for them, my fears for them, my dreams for them, they're all wrapped up so tightly, like the tiny little pieces of candy inside a gumball, just waiting to spill out at the first bite. I pray every day that I'm doing all I can to help them soar, helping them become caring, thoughtful individuals.
We recorded a video yesterday for our sweet friends Vanessa and Blaine, whom I told you about here. They've issued a challenge that I hope you'll accept. Enjoy me tripping over Isabelle near the end of the video.
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