The Move

My family has moved recently. We are now living in a one story home that is much safer for my little girl. Not a stair to fall down, (or carry laundry up). It wasn't much of a move, just a few exits away. We've been in our new house for a little over a week and we are still living out of boxes. It baffles me, seeing how much stuff I was able to hide in the old house. The new house doesn't have a basement or attic. Because of that I have given my hidden treasures, (junk) to the Good Will. I am aiming to find a place for everything by Thanksgiving, possibly New Years, my 40th b-day for sure.

Even though things are a bit out of sorts we could not put off this day. Today is the first day of school for the kids. Like many parents I know, I have been looking forward to this day. My mission this week was to open boxes to recover their backpacks from last year which, I might add, are in shape to last several more years. How much damage can a first and second grader do to a backpack anyway? I've never understood this mad dash to do the kids back to school shopping. What's wrong with the stuff they have. I just buy things as things are needed. Back to the backpack. . . . I found them! I emptied the remains from last years classes and put them back in commission. I filled them with all of the items that were on the "list" found on the school's website. I thought it odd that this list had name brand things, as if the companies were in cahoots with the schools. Things like Crayola crayons, Zip Loc bags, etc. It reminded me of what a rip-off the college campus book store was.

So as last evening was coming to a close I set off to complete the "before school ritual" that I had been on vacation from all summer. I easily uncovered the buried, old musty, lunch bags. After a few washes with lemony dish soap they were in surprisingly good shape. No need for a late night run to Target for new lunch bags. Phew! I got out the old ice packs that have been in hibernation and got to figuring out what to make. Soy nut butter and jelly for Taki and hot dog for GiGi. That wasn't so hard.

The alarm was like a siren this morning at 6:45. I held off the day for 15 min and arose at 7am. GiGi was already up. She fed herself a bowl of flakes. I am amazed at how focused and agile she is with a bowl of cereal and a spoon. If they had an special Olympic event for cereal eating, hopping on your knees,or chewing on things GiGi would be a contender. Once she was done with her morning meal she was up from the table and heading back to bed. This was the usual order of events during the off-season and it wasn't going to be changed in one day. So,I let her lay down while her brother got ready.

Taki was reluctant to get out of bed but after reminding him of what day it was he said to me, "mom, can you open my dresser drawers, the ones with the pants and shirts but not the bottom one because that one has jammies in it?", as if I don't know what is in which drawer. He rolled out of bed and made his all important clothing decision. I was not involved in this except to remind him to wear something nice on his first day. He picked out something totally appropriate and headed to the kitchen to prepare his own breakfast. He was full of pleases and thank yous which made me so proud.

I rewoke GiGi and got her dressed in full gear. She hadn't worn her helmet or her VNS magnet all summer (http://www.vnstherapy.com/). As excited I was about this long awaited day, I started to feel a bit anxious. I continued on and got the lunches out of the fridge and into backpacks and headed out the door. We registered the kids a little late in the summer so GiGi will not be getting the bus until next week. However, Taki had an assigned bus stop. He and George walked, jogged, sprinted, to the bus stop and made it just in time. Later in the morning George told me that they had just made it and Taki just ran right up on the bus and didn't look back. I was not surprised. I got GiGi in the car and we headed to her new school. We made a silent drive to the new place and made it into the classroom without much ado. Going into the door we got the usual stares from kids and parents. This, we have become accustom to. We found her classroom and I unpacked her things and handed over her medicine and her magnet to the classroom nurse. I stayed for a while and watched as the other kids filed in, some in wheel chairs and some on foot. Being around this environment was not new to me and I was not unsettled by the kids it was more the room. It is a small classroom with so many people buzzing around; the teacher, the aids, the nurses, etc. My stomach began to flip-flop. I didn't know exactly what it was. After about 15 minutes I left and GiGi was on her own to challenge her new educators. As I started down the hallway busy with kids organizing their lockers and showing off their new kicks, I did not see anyone that I was familiar with. I began to cry. I know she'll be OK, this is not her first time at school. When I got in the car I really had some difficulty controlling my emotions and I just let it all out. The tears brought clarity and I was able to see what it was that had punched me in the gut. GiGi has been in school for 4 years now and has been in 4 different schools. Her first experience with school was at our local elementary school for early intervention, (she was 5 and out of the hospital for 2 months). After early intervention they placed her in a new school for kindergarten. Unfortunately, that classroom was closed down after her first year and she was sent to a new school for 1st grade. She was in a wonderful classroom with an amazing teacher and aides. Now, since we have moved, she is in yet another school. What was different now was the community of friends that I had in the old neighborhood. They were the parents of the kids at my son's old school. They were all so supportive and caring. It was very comforting to me. Now we are in a new place and some time for adjustment is needed. We will make new connections and of course have the old ones as well. We'll be ok. I'm headed off to have breakfast,at a restaurant, without the kids.