On the first day of X Grade....

 
 


Do you know that song by the Veggie Tales, "On the first day of first grade I'll tell you what he did..."? That's been going through my head all morning as we get the boys ready for first and third grades.


It continues to confound me as a mom how to successfully parent two children who are so polarly opposite. Jack was up before I came in the room this morning, dressed and checking himself out in the mirror. He got completely ready, ate his breakfast in a hurry and ran outside to catch Ms. Pat on her first pass by the house. We call this the "early bus" because Miss Pat actually passes our house twice and Jack likes to be on the first time so he has more time to chat with his buddies.

Liam, on the other hand, had the covers over his head and the moment I started singing our "Rise and Shine" song he started to say that he was too shy and he didn't want to go to school. His nerves continued all morning and he asked to be a "car rider", so Brian took him to school this morning. I am so much more like Jack than Liam that sometimes it's very hard for me to empathize with the fear. I had to keep reminding myself how my friend Sonja would handle things, because she is so patient and she doesn't like new situations either, so she has all this empathy surrounding first days. I just jump into everything, excited about newness and change, so I have to channel my inner Sonja! :)

Overall, it was a successful morning, though. Everyone is out the door and now I am having my coffee while Meg eats her breakfast and Connor enjoys some alone time with the DS for the first time in three months. Ahhhh, the bliss of silence! :)