Well, my son is in first grade, and I feel I am now officially out of that baby/preschool phase and fully into the school-age kid stage of life. And to that I say, "hurrah!"
I've loved my kids since the day each was born. But I must say the older they've gotten, the more I enjoy them. I prefer conversations and subtle humor and sarcastic remarks to Barney and sippy cups and toilet training. I'd rather be busy carpooling than taking care of every physical need of another human being. I have kids who can take their own showers, get their own snacks and do their own laundry. And two of them even DO do their own laundry. Life can slow down now. We can hover here for a while and enjoy family life.
I generally hate he start of school. I hate the routine and I like having my kids at home. But with the crazy summer we've had, and the way my youngest two were bickering, I actually was relieved this year to get going.
At the moment I feel like I now have all the time in the world I could possibly desire. Two kids leave for the bus (buses in Idaho are free, unlike some mental states) at 7:05 am. Two more kids leave to walk to school at 8:30. The first two kids get home at 3:10. The second set ideally arrives at 4:pm. (Their first solo trip they were 30 minutes late, turning the corner on to our street just as I had started the engine of the Suburban to go look for them.) That's 6 hours and 40 minutes without any children. And there is no dropping off or picking up. I got the entire garage cleaned out yesterday. But we do live in a new place, and responsibilities that are sure to come have yet to find us. I am know that the nearly 7 hours will shrink quickly over the next few weeks.
In the meantime, I think I'll head out to prune the shrubs, then come in and shower, work on my talk for Sunday, and maybe head to Subway for lunch. That sounds perfect.
4 fishy comments:
I am so with you on the loving the kids from the moment they're born, but truly enjoying them when they get older thing!
There are places where the school bus isn't free? Where are these mental places? I can't imagine paying for the school bus, LOL.
I remember, when I was having a lot of trouble getting pregnant with my 4th, thinking that, if nothing else, I could look forward to all 3 of my kiddos being in school in about 3 years. Guess I shot that plan all to heck, huh? ;) Now I've got 5 more years to wait. At least I only have one last kid to potty train - I just have to wait 2-3 years to get started on that. :P
I am just a year or two behind you on the empty-house-during-the-day thing. With a preschooler, a kindergartener, 2 in elementary and one in Jr Hi, I am getting just a little taste of the peace and quiet when they are all gone. I like the solitude, but what I'm really looking forward to is not having to leave 17 times a day to drop someone off or pick someone up! We don't live close enough for the little ones to walk and we don't live far enough to be on the bus route! Yuck!
My first is in 1st grade, too this year and I was so grateful to have her go to school! She and my youngest fight and fight and fight. I don't mind babies, however, it is nice to not have to dress my kids, get them breakfast (they are extremely self-reliant) or any of the other monotonous things that take up a lot of time that you have to do for babies.
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