Not your typical school year start...

Well, somehow September snuck up on me again, (yes, it happens every year, so you'd think I'd know better by now...but I firmly believe that the infamous Dog Days of August just melt my brain...yeah, we'll go with that...) and you know what that means: it's going to be a cool, crisp...94 degrees today! No, that's not it; September definitely doesn't mean Fall has arrived around here yet. Um, give me a minute...oh, I've got it: a new school year has started! Can you tell I'm still not quite in the swing of things? I blame our late-August vacation--it was a fabulous getaway, and a lovely way to wrap up the season, but the whole family seems to be suffering from a bit of a Summer Hangover. The kids are dragging their little butts out of bed grudgingly at 7:45--Derek even resorts to burying his head under the blanket some mornings (but I personally feel this is understandable and appropriate behavior, when your father visits your room at 7:40 and chirps in an obnoxiously perky voice, "Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!" I'm surprised the kid hasn't resorted to hurling stuffed animals at my husband's head...I surely would).

Anyway...I was a bit worried about the tone of the upcoming year when we visited the elementary school for Open House the day before school started. That's when the kids finally discover the answer to the Big Mystery: Who will be my Teacher this year? Before we looked at the lists posted on the front door of the school, Derek announced, "If I don't have Mrs. W (his 4th-grade teacher) again, I'm quitting school!" Of course he was exaggerating, but the 5th-grade hyperbole went over Little Brother's head, so he  enthusiastically agreed: "yeah, if I don't get Mrs. M (his former Kindergarten teacher), I'm quitting too!"
(Ohhh-kaaay, I don't care if you get Mrs. Frankenstein, NOBODY is dropping out of elementary school! And unfortunately it's still too early to apply to a Drama Program, so can we please take it down a notch?) Derek ended up with his former 2nd-grade teacher, which seemed acceptable to him. There was a tense moment when we found out that his two closest buddies were in different classes, but Derek kept a stiff upper lip about it and resigned himself to hanging out with them at recess. Riley got his Reading Teacher from last year, and was overjoyed (whew! because if anyone was going to run away from home over this, it would be him!)

So all of a sudden we had to jump back into the Weekday Routine--backpacks, lunchbags, bus stop, homework. When the boys came home after 7 hours in the Land of Learning, I asked Riley how his first day had been. "Miserable," he sighed. Uh oh. Dare I ask why? "Because of all the stuff we had to do!" Clearly we need to build up some stamina for the rigors of 2nd grade...and in my head I was thinking: "one day down, one-hundred seventy nine to go!" Derek on the other hand reported that things were just fine in the Wide World of 5th Grade. He even gets to switch teachers for Math, and his BFF is in his group (yay! bonding over algebra...or whatever.) However, he has a Math Book for the first time ever, and it weighs approximately a TON. Add this to his Data Binder (2 inches thick), and his backpack (before adding his lunch) clocks in at a hefty 10 pounds (yes, I put it on the scale to be sure). For a kid who himself weighs 70 pounds--fully clothed, soaking wet, after a huge meal--this seems ridiculous! I'm going to have to put my Chiropractor on speed-dial this year...

And then, just to add a little more (unnecessary, if you ask me) excitement to the first week, On Wednesday the kids finally trudged up the street almost a half-hour later than usual. Sometimes this happens due to a bus breaking down or schedules getting backed up with the earlier dropoffs, so I wasn't overly concerned. However, when I asked Derek the reason behind the delay, he nonchalantly informed me that the school had been on a Code Red Lockdown and no one was allowed to leave until the situation was resolved. Alrighty, now I've really missed something--what "situation"? "The bank across the street was being robbed!" What the WHAT? I mean, sure, it sounds like a pleasant way to spend Dismissal Time, in your locked classroom, with the lights out, huddled in a corner away from the windows. Holy Guacamole! Nothing like a little Criminal Activity to liven up a boring old school day!

As we careen toward the end of Week 1 of the 2010-2011 academic year, I have fervent hopes that the craziness is finished, to be replaced by a prevailing sense of calm normalcy. Almost to Labor Day Weekend...keep your fingers crossed!