Back to School

It's that time of year again . . .

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I don't know who's more excited, me or. . .no, it's me.

It's totally me.

I love back to school. I always have. I love a new packet of lined paper, new workbooks.  I love a new Lisa Frank Trapper Keeper with a Sailor Moon spring-loaded pencil case and an Aladdin lunch box.  Yes, I did have all of those things, and yes, I was a high school sophomore at the time.  Ahhh, youth.

The past two weeks have been nothing but the express train to CrazyTown.  As the summer drew to a close, we were inundated with back-to-back Back to School preparation.  The girls will be going to different schools this year, which means, each school has had their own new family orientation,  new student orientation, new school/new buddy program orientation, and all matters of activities to get us all oriented acclimated.  There's all this build-up and rah-rah leading up to the first day of school.  The girls were literally crackling with excitement and anticipation. I was steadily crossing off calendar days until THE day.

Then Irene happened.

One downed tree and 5 days without power later:  Morgan has missed her originally scheduled first day. She's on summer vacation for another week.  If I had a little sound bite of that trumpet triplet -- you know, waa, waa, waa -- I'd definitely insert it here.  The silver lining here is more quality time with my first born before she is fully immersed in the rigors of first grade.  Her enthusiasm, however, is beginning to deflate like a left-over birthday balloon.   She's gone as far as to remix the They Might Be Giants Song "I Never Go to Work" as "I Never Go to School".  Wonderful.

Coever, however, was washed, fed and out the door for her scheduled first day, September 1st.

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Oh yeah, that's today. I'm so giddy, I'm floating in my seat a little. 

Just as in other first-day-of-school experiences we've had, she was all smiles and "Bye, Mom. Bye!" as we left her in her teacher's capable hands.  Let's hope this good cheer carries her well beyond the first day, the first week, even.  

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Marking the occasion. 

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Afterschool.  Still smiling.

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"Whaddya mean I gotta go back tomorrow?"