The First Day

Today my children went back to school.  It was exciting, sad, and fun all at once.  It was extremely painful having my alarm go off at 6 a.m. That is probably one of the things I hate most.  I did a lot to get ready yesterday, but I still found us running around like crazy trying to get out the door. When my kids got to their classrooms they both immediately went in and acted like they had been there for months.  While they were gone I REALLY missed them, but at the same time I REALLY had a great day.  It is amazing to me that I have very strong feelings at opposite ends of the spectrum at the same time.  By 10 a.m. I had taken my kids to school, had breakfast with a friend, gone to Target, Dicks Sporting Goods, Harris Teeter, Target (again) and gotten home to work around my house. By 12:30 I had added to my list of accomplishments the following: got all my laundry washed, dried, folded & put away, started supper, wrapped a present for my mother-in-law, wrote a card to a friend, straightened up the house, and baked brownies. In the last 1 1/2 before I picked my sweeties up I went to the post office and the library.  Only a fraction of that would have been possible if I'd had my children with me.  So that is why it was great!

But I did miss them.  It is hard for me to believe that Taylor is starting his last year of lower school.  I am not ready for him to start middle school.  How did this happen??? I am trying so hard to stop and really spend time with him when he wants to.  I don't think he'll ask to hang out with me much longer.  When they got home today we had brownies and sat around the table discussing our days.  Taylor was very talkative - something that doesn't happen often, so I thoroughly enjoyed it.  All in all it was a great day!

  

   

Star Gazing

Last night my kids and I got up at 2:30 a.m. (that's not a mistake) to watch a meteor shower.  The Perseid Meteor Shower was able to be viewed all over the U.S. from about 1 a.m. until sunrise. My kids REALLY wanted to see it after they heard about it on the weather portion of the news. I wouldn't let them stay up until then, but I told Taylor he could set his alarm to get up to see it. He asked Claire if she wanted him to wake her up.  She said yes and asked him to wake her up by rubbing her back and if that didn't work then to "pinch the fool out of her."

So -  Taylor set the alarm and off we went to sleep.  At 2:30 I heard it go off.  He pushed snooze. Four minutes later, the alarm went off.  Again, he pushed the snooze button.  It was so funny, because I think he really wanted to go back to sleep but couldn't figure out how to get the alarm to stop beeping.  Anyway - the third time it went off he got up and brought it to me to turn off.  I got up with him and then we went to wake up Claire.

We all grabbed blankets and headed outside.  I got two Harris Teeter chairs and we planted them in the middle of the culdesac away from the bright street lamp.  We leaned our heads back and proceeded to look up at the stars.  It was a perfectly clear night and it took about five minutes for us to see a meteor streak across the sky. Some were brighter than others and we ended up seeing about 15 between us in the 35 minutes we stayed outside.  

After a while we decided to go back inside.  We all enjoyed the beauty and majesty of God's creation, but I think my kids thought it was cooler to get up in the middle of the night and go outside  - kinda like they were breaking the rules.  I am trying to go "outside the box" more with my kids in order to make some memories.  I think this is one they'll remember for a while. 

 

The Party is Over

I am going back to work tomorrow.  I am starting my fifth year at CCS, the longest I have ever been in one job.  Part of me is excited, but the other part of me is dreading it.  I love that first day of work.  There is a buzz around campus, people are excited to see each other, and it is fun to see all the new employees. The spirit of Christ is very present as we spend the first part of the morning in praise and worship. I love the girls I work with and the camaraderie we share.

All that said, I dread the routine that comes with the end of summer and the first days of school/work.  I know our God is a God of order, but I can't stand having my alarm go off at the same time day after day after day.  I don't like having spelling tests every Friday, piano every monday and a meeting every Wednesday night.  I LOVE the freedom and flexibility of summer. I love staying up late and sleeping in.  I love being able to decide at the last minute that we are heading out of town.  I love staying in my pajamas until after lunch while I clean the house.

But the end of summer, for me, is here whether I want it to be or not. So, I have laid out Claire's clothes for tomorrow and gotten her bag packed so she can go to work with Mike.  I have figured out what I am wearing and packed my bag, too.  The coffee pot is ready for me in the morning, and my alarm clock is set.  Now all I need is one more month!

The Narrow Path

While on vacation last week I experienced an "ah ha" moment.  We were leaving the beach and heading back to our house after spending a glorious day swimming, playing and hanging out with our friends.  We were at Sunset Beach where even the ocean front homes are 50 yards from the beach. In order to get back to the houses you have to walk across a boardwalk through the dunes. You can't fit more than two people across at a time, and when you are loaded down with rafts, chairs, shovels, buckets, bocci sets, coolers, boogie boards, towels, beach bags, and etc. - it is single file walking.

We were all walking down the path when my friend's sweet 10-year-old daughter decided to tell me about seeing a snake in the brush next to the raised boardwalk.  She, and the rest of her wonderful family, know I hate snakes and they like to tell the story of how I freaked out at the sight of a very real looking rubber snake in their front yard when I was visiting one time.  I don't remember if she said the beach snake was big or alive or even what color it was - all I remember is the word snake. I can't even remember if she saw it or someone she knew saw it. Again, all I heard was "snake."

I responded to her that that was all the more reason for me not to look into the brushy, natural area to the left and right of the boardwalk, and that I was going to keep my eyes straight ahead on the narrow path in front of me.  AH HA, I thought!  That is exactly what we are supposed to do in our walks with Jesus.  Matthew 7:14 says, "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it."

I would say that a good majority of the time I am way too fixed on trivial and unimportant things (people.com!) in this world and not fixed nearly enough on God.  I spend far too much time doing things without an eternal focus.  I know if I keep my eyes on God, my focus will remain clear, my priorities will be what they should be, and I will not be encumbered by the non-important things of this world.  Those are the things that take me off the path.

So that is my plan.  Keep my eyes on God and walk the narrow path.  I am going to try not to be tempted to look to the left or to the right at the things that would distract me from seeking God and following His plan for my life.  The benefit?  In addition to the glorious riches of growing in my walk with Him, I'll also miss the snakes.

Class Lists

There is nothing that makes my blood pressure rise like waiting for my children's class lists to come out before the beginning of each new school year.  EVERY year about this time my heart starts racing, my stomach starts churning and I wait extremely anxiously for that packet to arrive in the mail.  I am not by nature an anxious person, and I can think of true crises in my life that haven't provoked this kind of response in me.

It really begins each year before school gets out for the summer when people start asking, "What teacher do you want next year?"  I hear everyone talking about how they want Miss so and so and how they want their child separated from THAT child and on and on.  I try to ignore it all, but at some point, NEVER FAIL, I fall prey to the thoughts of who do I want to be my children's teachers and who I want (or don't want) to be in their class.

That is the crux of it all - the kids in the class.  More important to me than which teacher they get is the mix of the kids in the class.  Yes, I want them to have loving, strong, kind, affectionate, compassionate, fun, imaginative teachers who shower them with hugs and compliments while preparing them to be Rhodes Scholars, but more so - I care about who they are sitting beside at lunch and playing with on the playground.

Let me stop right now and say we have NEVER had a bad year.  From pre-school until now, both my children have had fabulous teachers who have met their needs and helped them to grow, learn and develop both academically and spiritually.  Why is that?  Because God is in control.  As their creator, He knows my children intimately. He knows their needs and can meet them far better than I.  

I think the hubbub surrounding class lists is a control issue.  I am not in control, someone else is.  However, when I stop and remember that ultimately God is in control, I can relax and let Him place my children in the right environment where He can continue a mighty work in them. Does that mean they still might be in class with the one child who drives them crazy? Absolutely.  But isn't that a way for them to learn patience, tolerance and peace-making? 

So - while I wait for that class list, I will continue to pray that God will place my children where He wants them and give me peace in the process.  And when I get that list in the mail, I will thank God and praise Him in advance for the mighty work He will do this year.