Every First Day

It's the first day of school.  

Three of my children are going to elementary school this year.  For one son, it is his first day of first grade.  His first year of elementary school where he stays all day.  For another son, it is his first day of fifth grade. His last year of elementary school.

"This is a great year," my oldest son's new teacher told me when we met her last week.  "Fifth grade is the year they really figure out who they want to be in middle school. It's an exciting time."

For my daughter it is her first day of third grade.

  
I hated third grade.  Mrs. Hutchins was my teacher, she was a soft spoken, strict teacher.  I didn't love her.  She didn't love me.  But what really stood out from that year are a few bad memories: my hideous perm that kids literally pointed and laughed at, when I misspelled Wednesday in front of the class (stupid D) and it is the year math started to suck (or I started to suck at math, guess it's how you look at it).

Each grade helps you figure out who you want to be in middle school and beyond.  Each phase, each bad perm (no one perms anymore though right?), each misspelling, each mistake, each first day, each really awesome totally wonderful greatest day ever, each horrible heartbreaking unfair moment--they all add up.  They add up to make you who you want to be or never want to be ever again. (That's my kind of math--emotional math.)

Every first is important.  Every step, phase, whatever you want to call it.

My wish list for this day of firsts, and every day from here on out, for my kids is: 

• I wish, hope and pray that my children learn better coping skills than I possess; 

• They find people that see potential in them who nurture that spark of something into real amazingness; 

• They are good to their friends and people that aren't their friends;

• They know they are loved no matter what always and forever;

• They see the joy in life and for god's sake appreciate it all.

Baby Wade is the only one at home now.

While the older kids are in school, baby Wade and I will be playing with my latest obsession, Instagram.  Come on over and play, follow me here:

In case you missed it, here's my Good-bye To Summer video: