June 29, 2012 - Last day of school

So today was the last day of school. I no longer have a kindergartner and a grade 2 student. I'm not sure if I'm ready for this school year to be over.  There were tears by everyone.  The Girl was sad because one of her friends was crying, kindergarten is a big deal for those kids, and they will miss spending time with their friends over the summer.  I didn't expect the Boy to be tearful.  He was crying when I picked him up.  He gave his teacher a second hug before we sat down and chatted about his day.  His best friend is moving (today apparently) so he was really upset about not getting to see him today and give him the card he made.  I suggested that he ask his friend to be his pen pal, that way he could practice his writing and keep in touch with his friend, but he never got to ask because the friend wasn't at school today.

The Girl on her first day of SK.

The Boy on his first day of Grade Two.

I distinctly remember the first day of school back in September. I was 8 months pregnant and it was rainy. We were in they gym waiting for the teachers to read their assignments. The Girl was excited but had to wait until the afternoon to meet her teacher. The Boy did not want to start at the new school. He wanted to go back to his old school with his old friends. He was in tears and it was really hard to leave him there. When he doesn't know people he acts tough and can be rude to people. I was afraid that he made a horrible first impression and wouldn't have any friends for the entire year.
It was a long couple of weeks, most nights he went to bed in tears asking if he could go back to his old school. That was hard to hear. The teacher thought he might have ADD, but we weren't convinced. We figured he was just having a hard time adapting to all the changes in his life (new school, friends, baby). We were right. By mid-October he was making some friends and was feeling better about school. The teachers opinion of him changed and he was doing better (although still with focus issues). Now he seams to have lots of friends, many people in the school know him (kids and teachers). He's being invited to birthday parties and he made a couple of best friends. I'm proud of him for working through his issues and doing so well at grade two. He even got an A+ in science. His chemist grandparents must be very proud:)

The Boy last day of GradeTwo.

The Girl on her last day of SK.

The Girl was in a class with just 5 other girls. She made friends with all the girls in her class and good friends with some of the boys. She never had any issues with a new school and was always happy and bubbly when I dropped her off. I am so proud of her because she is doing well in her reading and her writing. I know she is ready for grade one and is so close to learning to read independently.

I am filled with conflicting emotions when I think about the year ending. First of all I loved every minute of dropping off and picking up the kids at school. All those Moms who work outside the home know what I mean and until this year I never really got to pick then up from school. I wasn't the one they came running out to hug. Was I envious of the person who got to pick up my kids, yes, but I understood that it was all part of the life I had chosen for my family. Will I miss it when I go back to work? Most definately. I love hearing about their day and what interesting things they did and learned. But, I am not going to miss all the nagging I have to do. Sometimes I feel like that is all I do, nagging them to do this or that. I wish more of my time with them could have been relaxing and having snuggles while reading stories. But I guess I don't have that picture perfect family where the house stays clean and dinner cooks itself and babies don't scream and just sit quietly while you do all your chores. I think once I go back to work I will be more tired, I will have to take care of many of the same things, just with less time in the day. I will be happy to spend my day with adults again (not counting the undergrad students!!). The one thing that work brings me, besides a proper income, is time to miss the kids. I don't get that when I am with them 24/7.

So as we embark on our summer vacation, my first and probably last summer where I get to spend every day with my kids, I am excited and sad that the school year ended.  It means that I am only a few months away from going back to work and missing my kids all day.  We are going to work on our summer bucket list and hopefully have some amaxing adventures together.  Hopefully it will be a summer to remember.