Like Sands Through The Hourglass

If you live anywhere near me and happened to look outside yesteday and see someone doing cartwheels down the street in their pajamas, that was probably yours truly.

The school year is off to a start, and if the State of Texas started school on a weekend, I would have been toasting myself yesterday with Mimosas, Bloody Marys, or both. Well, maybe not both. I cannot do tomato juice that early. Mimosas, for sure.

The kids headed off yesterday, scrubbed, immunized, shaved (I have a 7th grader that shaves, and 8th grader that doesn't, imagine what that does for sibling rivalry), and newly clothed compliments of Hollister and no thank you to the slow mall walkers.

I love the first day of school.

There are no pleads from me for them to get out of bed, no requests for lunch money, book money, picture money, or homecoming dance money. No last minute requests to sign report cards, book reports, or 'oh, by the way, I need black pants, socks and shoes for the band concert tonight,' from a child who has grown 6 inches since the last band concert.

My kids actually look forward to the first day, reconnecting with their friends, and comparing notes over which teachers they will collectively torture, which girls they will try to attract.

Several years ago, my two youngest kids were in first grade and kindergarten, respectively. Jordan was 4 years old, starting kindergarten with the teacher Chase had just finished the previous year with, we loved her.

Apparently, Jordan was having a rough first day, so the teacher, knowing Chase already, pulled Jordan out of class and took him down to find Chase in his first grade class, hoping he could give Jordan some 'words of encouragement.'

The teachers pulled Chase out in the hall, all three foot ten of him, and asked him to provide a little big brother psychotherapy, and talk Jordan into going back to class, ya know, help him out and all the things all good siblings should do.

Chase leaned over, whispered something in Jordan's ear, and Jordan turned around and went straight back to class, issue over.

I didn't hear about this incident until parent-teacher night, several weeks later.

I was beaming. All proud of my little first grader for stepping up to the plate and having Jordan's back when he needed it.

I was a little surprised though, that Chase had played big brother when it came down to it, there's no love lost between those two. Something didn't seem right.

I turned to Chase and asked, 'what did you say to him to make him go back to class like that?'

Chase looked at me and with his little 5 year old voice, and the same non-chalant, by-the-books, matter of fact personality has to this day and said:

"I told him to go back to class or he would end up stupid."

My how the time flies, from Jordan's kindergarten rescue, to yesterday when I jokingly said to him on the way out the door, 'try not to kill the girls with your cuteness' and he replied, dead serious, 'mom, that's kinda hard, okay.'

I am sad to have missed the first few days of school due to being out of town for work.

But, there is a silver lining in every cloud, right?

For the first time ever, it's my husband who gets to fill out three sets of the same forms we fill out every year, the paperwork that rivals in volumne the quantity of forms I filled out when I bought my house.

Have fun with that honey, it helps to switch pens to avoid writers cramp.

And please, don't forget to sign and date them properly, or the teachers might think we're stupid.