Thompson's take on 1st grade
As most parents, we are preparing for back to school. Here in North Florida, majority of the students are returning to school on Monday, August 14th. Although most parents are more than ready for their kids to go back to school, you know, so they can keep their sanity; there is still a bitter sweet feeling amongst our household.
Yes, right now our house is complete chaos. Swimsuits are hung just about everywhere, paired with their sandy towel partner. Pretty sure our kids have eaten enough this summer to feed an entire village for a year. Even with the mess and the days that feel like bedtime can't come soon enough, we will miss these summer days. These no rushed summer mornings. The ones where you still have a schedule, but nothing pressing to get done. These are the days that we look back on as adults and say, "Man my childhood was awesome". From trips, to surf camp with your best friends, to learning about basic physics in robotics, or the ultimate "boy morning", playing video games with dad till nap time. Come Monday it is over....
Back to reality (oh there goes gravity), where early wake ups return, and tight schedules are back. Where you're kids recess is now an after school activity, rather than just goofing around on the playground. The times have changed, as I sit here and sound like my 90+ year old grandmother, "It isn't the way it used to be". She's right! My son is going into first grade come Monday, and he is brilliant. I am pretty sure I was picking my nose going into first grade, yet here he is READING full books, writing and spelling with little hesitation, and basic math is as easy to him as breathing. I'm amazed at how much he has learned and grown. As I tuck him in tonight, I can only reflect on how lucky we are. We have a first grader! We have survived 6 years of parenting, and we love every minute of it (well 90% of it).
Today we had our teacher orientation, and we are pumped for our upcoming year. Our family has always had a way of thriving with new challenges, so we welcome the changes. This morning as little man and I packed his backpack to bring all his supplies to school, it really started to sink, I have a kid. I know that sounds crazy, because come on, he's six. I should have known that this was coming a long time ago. For some reason it is different now. He was excited to ride his bike to meet his teacher, rather than first day of preschool where he was so scared, and nervous of what was to come. My kid is growing up, and it's beautiful.
A family friend once said "Your goal in life is for your children to grow up and feel comfortable with who they are and confident to take on the world without fear", today I started to see my son's confidence. He glowed, and I stood proud as we walked into school together (totally holding hands). He is all set for his first day back to school, outfit picked out and all. His school has deemed first day you can dress as your favorite super hero, he chose a shark.... Don't ask, not 100% on this one.
Although his outfit looks legit, I am pretty sure this is how Monday morning will really look.
