First Day of School

Summer is officially over. Today the kids go back to school and I get to reclaim my sanity.

Don't get me wrong, I really like summer; trips to the beach, watching the kids enjoy their summer camps, relaxed afternoons at the pool, camping, fishing, and sleeping in. This summer, we even had an "epic" (my son's favorite word) family vacation to Germany where we visited family, and then toured southern Germany into the Alsace (on the French border along the west bank of the upper Rhine, bordering Germany and Switzerland) in France...all on motorcycles. It was fantastic.

When we returned to the US, we brought a nephew along. He stayed with us for three weeks, returning to Germany on Saturday. Now, it's Monday and all of that "epic-ness" is a fading memory.

Katherine is excited to start the new school year. I think she likes the routine of it, and truthfully, I think she likes to go where she can show off her skills and be "better" than some of her peers. She's learning humility since you can't be the best at everything, but when it comes to academics - so far - she is very strong and enjoys this part of herself. Katherine is a straight A student and takes great pride in pointing out the A+ grades when they come. She's also looking forward to seeing her friends again. Kids don't tend to invite Katherine over to play so unless we do the inviting and the hosting (which we do as often as we can), Katherine sees little of her friends during the summer.

Patrick, on the other hand, gets together with his friends as often as humanly possible. He loves the freedom that summer brings, enjoys the summer camps, and dreads the return to school and desks and homework.

With the start of school, my schedule shifts back into a fixed routine of early rising, making lunches, and getting kids up, fed, and out the door. Between their departure in the morning and pick up in the afternoon, I have my other jobs to do (laundry, cleaning, errands, and managing our real estate rental business). During the summer, these jobs take a back seat to the activities of summer vacation...a waaaay back seat. Now, it's time to do some catching up as I shift from "summer vacation mom" to "school year mom". I like them both - they each have their up-sides - but, like new school shoes, they require some breaking in.

And so I'm off to start breaking in my "back to school mom" shoes.