And Just Like That...All My Girls Are In School

Oops, look at where the time has gone. My July was jam-packed, and I was just about to start blogging about it at the very end of the month...and then of course, our computer got a virus and broke down for a few days. Unavoidable delays are the worst! Very soon, it will be time to get caught up with some photos from our fun family vacation to Colorado!

But I have to skip ahead of that for just a minute first, to write about a pretty big event in the Barrett household...

...the first day of school! Our charter school, Great Expectations Academy, starts earlier than most area schools; the kids headed for class on Monday, July 27th. What made this first day of school especially memorable was that for the first time, all three of our girls are now full-time students!

No more preschool for Aurora; now she is a big kindergartner. And she couldn't be happier about it.

  Several of her friends are in the class, and she has loved her teacher and her class so far.

 I honestly hadn't been sure how she would handle the day away from me; after all, Aurora is the "clingiest" of our girls, and she dotes on her mama. However, she has barely looked back (although she is usually pretty pooped by the late afternoon!). She was socially ready for school to begin, and she is clearly loving her school life so far. I hope that enthusiasm carries on for a long, long time. I also hope I will be able to volunteer in Aurora's class in another month or so. It has been hard to be a volunteer some years, but I am hoping to "be more available" this coming year, with my days being so much freer (for now, anyway!).

Celeste is now a seasoned second grader. She is lucky enough to be in a class with all her best friends, and I am hopeful that her teacher this year will be better prepared to keep order than her teacher last year. My biggest issue with Celeste's first-grade year was the lack of discipline in the class; many rowdy students made learning very difficult for the more obedient kids. I am optimistic this year, and hope to be able to spend more time in the classroom to see first-hand how things are going. This year, Celeste is very excited to be able to try out for the school play (second-graders are eligible this year...yay!), and I can't wait to see what part she gets.

As for Lorelai, she is thrilled to be in fifth grade. She keeps reminding me that it is her "last year of elementary school." As for myself, I try not to remember that part of things, since it makes me feel pretty darn old. But I am still so proud of her increasing maturity and enthusiasm. She is very excited for her new teacher and that some of her friends will be her classmates once again. I hope she has fun in class, learning new things and advancing scholastically. Last year she sometimes got withdrawn and didn't spend as much time with friends; I hope she is able to cultivate a lot of positive relationships this year. She is well into the "mean girl" phase of her life and I am starting to pray every day that she doesn't experience (or cause!) a lot of heartbreak. I also hope Lorelai enjoys jazz band this year (she is very excited for it to start up again). She is also hoping to try out another after-school club as well (once she figures out what they are!).

So where does this all leave Mom & Dad? Nathan just started teaching seminary again (he has the sophomore class this year), and he is very excited about it. Work is also (mostly) treating him well. And as for myself? I will save most of my ruminations for another blog post, but I will say this much: I miss my girls terribly some days, but most of the time I am very happy for them. They really do love going to school, and I hope they enjoy every minute of it. This year will be a time of transition for all of us in several ways, but with each other's help, I think we will all pull through. Right now we are all in the stage of excitement and discovery with our new roles. Hopefully once we are all settled in, things will get even better.