And So It Begins

When we first found out that Andy was going to split his morning between the middle school and elementary school I thought it was going to be difficult.  He has to wake up at 6 a.m. now to get showered and eat breakfast and get out the door to catch the bus on time.  So I need to wake up at 6 a.m. to make sure that he gets up.  He's a pretty early riser so the chances of him sleeping in are pretty slim, but still I need to be the responsible parent and make sure he's moving in the morning.  Another reminder that parenthood is overrated.

What I didn't realize when I was pondering how I was going to get up any earlier than I already did, was what a blessing that extra hour is.  He leaves around 6:45a.  The girls wake up, also on their own, around 7a.  Which means I have a few moments to gather my wits, get lunches started and be ready for the girls.  Since I am functional at 7a instead of trying to wake up and then getting out of bed by 7:30a, I can spend extra time picking out clothes and shoes with Amanda and even doing the girls' hair.  This morning I french braided both sides of Amanda's hair because I had nothing but time.

With Andy out of the house the instigator is gone and the girls can chat and play and there is no one to pick on them because he is bored.  We really do have all the time in the world and it makes the morning run so much smoother.

What I forgot about was how tired and cranky the kids are after school, mainly Sarah, and how homework is back in our lives.  Sarah had a tiny assignment today that took her over an hour to do.  All she had to do was pick five things from around the house that described her (the assignment was called "In a Nutshell") and would be used for creative writing assignments for the next few weeks.  It was like she had no clue what she was all about and what things were important to her.  By the end of that assignment we had a coming to Jesus that I would not be helping her with her homework this year if this is how it was going to go.  I am not going to sit by her side and try to get her to concentrate and cajole her into doing her homework.  This after just the first day people.  What am I going to say to her a month from now?

On the plus side, both kids love their teachers and are excited to be back at school.  That's what I really care about, that they are enjoying themselves and in the correct mindset to learn, which they appear to be.  Here's hoping it stays that way!