School Bell's A-Ringing

Well, it's coming to an end - summer, my mommy break, my time to think uninterrupted thoughts, a quiet household. Husband and I went to the movies Friday night and ran into some friends we hadn't seen in about 2 or more years. They didn't know we had a second child. They had their 7th three years ago. It was good to see them and we left happy to only have 2 kids for now. Saturday we went to dinner in N.Y. at Cleopatra's Needle. Apparently Rachel Ray was there not too long ago. I had the Moussakah, just like she did, according to our waiter. It was delicious. But Husband had a taste for steak and lobster so we ignored the downpour and went back to dinner Sunday in N.Y. - Sammy's on City Island. Yummy stuff as well. We had lots of quality time since he worked double shifts every day this past week or more. So this weekend was nice. A non-stop 3-day date where both parties were sure to get lucky. :-)

Husband flew out this morning to get the kiddies. He missed them. Talked about them all weekend but he knows he has no choice because this is vital to my sanity and important for my side of the family who don't get the time with them that his does. Still, he's gotten into the swing of things. It took a couple of years but I know he's finding the value in this time as well. It gives us a chance to remember what dating was like - without all the awkwardness. And he's even talking about planning a trip next year to coincide with their time away. But after 3 weeks, we get to missing them and it'll be good to have them back.

So off he flew. I woke him up at 2 a.m. He woke me up about 30 minutes later with a bright light and packing. He left about 3:40 a.m. for a 6 a.m. flight to Atlanta. He was supposed to be in Valdosta, Ga. at 11:30 this morning but the flight was canceled. Not enough people, he guessed. Instant 6-hour layover. Thankfully, he has family in Atlanta so his brother will be picking him up for lunch and he'll have a 3:10 flight out.

I can hear the squeals now - on both sides. Daddy will make his aiport appearance at 4:13 p.m., my father will pick him up, the kids will be delighted when he gets to the house and the changing of the guard will commence. They leave 6:30 tomorrow morning and I won't rest completely until every reason for my existence is back here where I can touch them. (I'm not afraid to fly. Love it actually, but airplanes will always be a source of concern for me. Husband mentioning the crash in Kentucky didn't help matters for either of us, plus it's raining buckets in CT.)

So school starts on Wednesday for Son. He'll be in 1st grade and he'll have a teacher who is new to the school. By her name, I believe it's a safe bet that she's black and that will make her the only one in the whole school. Lucky Son. I told my girlfriend about her and she thinks she may be the same woman who worked at my son's literacy camp at our church this summer. Hopefully that is the case because I can trust the quality of the people the camp director selects to teach the children. So, Son will come home to new purple sheets on his bed - our favorite color - and a Spiderman pillow that says, "We know you don't have your own room yet but we want you to still feel like you have a space for now."

Daughter doesn't start preschool until September 5th and I'm still wondering if she might be too young but they were willing to take her now instead of waiting until she is officially 3 in October so I said, why not? She's been wanting to go to school for a long time and she will be in a familiar setting since it was Son's preschool not too long ago. Of course with the loss of a babysitter every day, I now must do her hair myself - not my forte - but it will be good to see her transition into a new phase in her life.

So the basement has been straightened up a bit more. New boxes have been bought and prepped for all the 1st grade and preschool papers and artwork to come home. Old clothes are gone and donated. Old toys have been whisked away to the dump. And now, it's time for something new. A new school year. A new classroom for one. A new school for the other. A time for everyone to get used to each other again and then a familiar routine returns.

I'm looking forward to it.