More on Back to School

All through summer I’d turn on the near-tears every time Gavin and I talked about first grade in the fall. With half-day kindergarten we had so much time to play together in the afternoons. This would be the first time we’d be apart “all day long” every day. So I would get sad and tell Gavin how much I’d miss him. And it was really true.

But there are two sides to every coin and I have to admit that this coin flipped as I watched him get on the bus the first day – the very moment when I thought the real tears might flow. To see him so excited to start his day, to come home in the afternoon jazzed about school – I couldn’t want anything else for him.

And then there’s me. And Arwen. Life is different at home now but where I’d thought Arwen would be mourning her perpetual playmate she settled quickly into the female-only environment. And I have to admit to feeling a bit more agile myself.

Arwen’s first day of school followed Gavin’s by nearly two weeks. Thinking she might have a hard time with a new situation, I talked through the routine with her several days in advance. And when the time came to walk into her new school, she did great! She attends with enthusiasm each Monday and Friday morning and especially likes to paint and play with her friend Dalia.

Preschool Fridays free me up to spend some time in Gavin’s classroom, which I’m looking forward to. It’s hard to believe how much they’re doing already. I got a preview last Friday and will get my first full exposure this coming week.

As much as I’ve wanted to hold onto the golden days of summer, the energy of new beginnings is taking over and it feels good to be settling into new routines.

Got the Pukes

Not the most delicate topic but that’s what’s been up with the Joneses for the past two weekends. A week ago Saturday it was Arwen losing it then fooling us into thinking she was all better by bedtime and through breakfast the next morning. Then after the church potluck showing her stuff all over the floor in the foyer. Then more of it Sunday afternoon and through half of Monday.

We got into the week slow but sure thinking it was all over. Think again.

Yesterday we all woke up in one of those thankfully rare moods where no matter what direction you turn someone is at someone else’s throat. Out of the house! seemed the only reasonable direction. After some deliberation we headed north to Hartford to check out the New England Air Museum which Gavin’s been begging to visit ever since leaving behind Seattle’s famed Museum of Flight.

Somehow we failed to consider the low-grade fever and light headache that had been plaguing Gavin off and on for the past day. Not surprisingly (in retrospect), we were just a few miles short of the museum when his symptoms erupted. We were fortunate to be driving by an empty lot at the time, and he stabilized enough to make it through the exhibits once we arrived. But there was a marked lack of enthusiasm for the fighter planes, helicopters, and jets that had motivated our journey. Bummer.

I could go on about Gavin’s condition which kept him, Arwen, and me home from church today (can we say stir crazy???), but I’ll just say I’m thankful to have seen him giggling and horsing around with Chad by late this afternoon. And that he was the first to suggest that we should pray that he could get feeling better. And for the patient and polite way he and Arwen both manage to get through being sick. As sad as I am to see them suffer I genuinely enjoy the chance to just be with them as they hold still rather than trying to keep up as they’re bouncing off the walls.

Tonight we made plans for tomorrow, assuming Gavin will wake up feeling like a million bucks. We decided if he feels like a hundred bucks he should stay inside during recess. And if he feels like two bucks, well, we’ll just be going a bit stir crazy again.

The Wild West and Other Adventures

Over the past few months Gavin and Arwen have fallen in love with Henry and Mudge of Cynthia Rylant’s kids' book series. Their current favorite follows Henry’s family on a trip to the Wild West. Our family had our own Wild West adventure, which together with the start of school and some other happenings for our family have kept us from our blog lately. We’re glad you’re still checking in on us!

Our adventure began on the Oregon Coast where we hung out in a Manzanita beach house with my family. Next we spent a week with Chad’s family and attended the Mahoney family reunion in Utah. The final leg of the journey to us to and around Seattle, where we visited with lots of friends and checked in to make sure our favorite haunts were still around. We’ll hopefully write about it all soon.

Somehow coming back from 25 days on the road wasn’t as smooth as it sounded, and we had one more big change awaiting us. Chad was called to serve as a counselor to the bishop of our church congregation, which meant a release from my job as Relief Society president. We’re still adjusting to all the change that has brought, but it’s good overall.

And last but not least, we’ve seen the beginning of school for Chad, Gavin, and Arwen. Chad is teaching Plant Taxonomy and Identification (lecture and lab) plus a lab for the general Ecology class. Gavin is thrilled to be back at school, this time all day long, where his summer worksheets and journal entries seem to be paying off. And Arwen is a very proud preschooler, attending two mornings a week.

So what am I doing with all my newfound time? I’m trading in my slow-developing book-writing plans for schemes on a part-time consulting business. It should be fun!