Hard as I tried, I could not stop the inevitable. Labor Day did actually arrive, and with its passing came The First Day of School. I had been dreading this day for weeks. Summer had been a great one this year. The weather had been cooperative and Anna was home. We took some great short trips with friends, rode our bikes, and hung out at the pool where Nora Jane grew gills and fins and became a fabulous swimmer. It was the perfect balance of productivity and leisure. Mostly, though, I just enjoyed being Nora's mommy. Anna is nineteen now and far too cool independent to hang out with her mom for too long. But Nora's only eight; so I'm still cool, still funny. And she delights in everything and anything we do. Whether it's a walk to the park to play with friends, a bike ride around the neighborhood, a day of boating, a trip to the local street fair to listen to music and eat junk food, a camp trip, or a patient wait for Old Faithful to erupt followed by ice cream cones from the gift shop (along with about a million other Yellowstone tourists.) It's all fun to her.
In short, she was simply fun to be around. And she was my buddy. The buddy Anna used to be. And I didn't want her to leave. Because life would once again be quiet. And it's only third grade! Who really needs third grade? :) But mostly, because I would miss her. I mean just look at her. Wouldn't you miss that face too?
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| Nora Jane and her bountiful strawberry harvest |
I even told her so. She indignantly replied, "Mom! I'm only going to be a minute away!" Apparently, she was ready.
Oh, I wasn't in complete denial. We had gone school clothes shopping earlier in the summer. No waiting around til the last minute this year! No sir! My kid is going into third grade, and I am finally going to be one of those well prepared parents. But then I wasn't. I didn't want to be. Not yet. So, the thought of everyone returning to school, simply got pushed to the furthest recesses of my mind. I wasn't going to think about it. I was going to live in the moment. I was going to enjoy the sunshine and the barbecues, the s'mores roasted to perfection in the back yard, the bike rides to the frozen yogurt shop, which opened up much too close to my house this summer.
But, as we all know, time stops for no one. Not even me. And as summer was coming to a close, and our long awaiited vacation to Colorado to watch the U.S. Pro Cycling Challenge became a reality, I knew I couldn't live in denial any longer. Or could I? As I closed the back hatch of the very full van, the night before we left on vacation, I, once again, closed the door on school. I was going to keep summer going, just a little longer.
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| Packed and Ready |
So, with just over two weeks of summer left, I postponed the purchasing of paper, binders, and unsharpened pencils. We weren't ready to go home and spend what seems like hours sharpening them to perfection. I put off buying sticky notes, erasers, and red correcting pens, that only seem to come in bags of twelve, although your child only needs two. Instead, I spent money on campgrounds and hotels. T-shirts, hats, and water bottles from cycling races. Swimming sessions at pools and reservoirs. Meals eaten out and meals cooked over camp fires. And, of course, coffee. There was The Very Good from The Laughing Goat Coffee House in Boulder, Colorado. Then there was The Very Bad from some coffee shops that should be ashamed of themselves! Oh, and gas. To Colorado (and back) is a long drive.
And we had a great time.
And then, all too soon, it was time to go home. And everyone knew it, except me, apparently. Anna, who had stayed behind to tend to the cat and the house and that pesky summer job, texted and said, "are you guys heading home soon?" And on what should have been our second to last day, both Dave and Nora agreed that it was time to get home. (Even though we were still thirteen hours from home.) "That's okay, mom," said Nora. "You guys can just take turns driving and if I get tired, I'll just go to sleep." And at 8:00 p.m., that's precisely what she did. She closed her book, turned off her headlamp, snuggled under her pink blankie, and said, "Goodnight!" Well, there was no stopping at that point. Spokane was in the headlights. Which meant home was a mere five hours away. So we made the big push.
Waking up the next morning, (IN MY OWN BED!) having slept through the night with ABSOLUTELY NO FEAR of being eaten alive by a hungry Grizzly Bear, I realized, through my fatigue, that I had only one week left. A mere seven days! But I didn't think about any of that, for I had STUFF TO DO! Our fridge was empty. I don't know what Anna ate while we were gone. The grass needed mowing, the flower beds needed weeding and watering, the dog needed to be picked up from Grandpa's, and the sun was still out! So, instead of going school supply shopping, I threw back the covers and informed Dave that we were going for coffee. And we were taking the car, (despite having just completed a 2200 mile road trip,) because I was too tired to walk.
And Nora didn't want to go supply shopping either. "Maybe tomorrow," she said. Cool with me. But, eventually, she, too, realized summer couldn't last forever. So on Tuesday, September 4th, (the day BEFORE school started) with our supply list in hand, off we went to Target. And, of course, they were out of almost everything. But we got what we could, threw it into the van and walked across the parking lot to Office Depot where we bought the rest. We drove it home, spread it out on the dining room table, where she reveled in her booty like a kid on Halloween night. Then, with Sharpie in hand, she labeled everything, put it back into the bag, and set it by the door, where it sat until we marched it to her classroom later that afternoon for the Meet-n-Greet with her teacher.
And then it was here: The Big Day. Unfortunately, this was one of those days when I needed to be in two places at once. Since this was impossible, I left Dave in charge of First Day of School, while I drove Anna to WWU to meet with her academic advisor. I was sad to have missed Nora's first day, but since I am a Control Freak, I left Dave with strict instructions for breakfast, hair brushing and, most importantly, the taking of The First Day of School Porch Picture. Which he did.
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| Wearing her U.S. Pro Cycling Challenge T-Shirt! |
And the BFF picture. Which he also did.
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| NJ and Mer: Ready to face Third Grade Together! |
And then it was 3:30. And we were walking home from school. And she was telling me her teacher is really nice. And they'd already taken some tests. And it's going to be a hard year.
And it was like Summer had never even been here.
xoxo--
Sonja
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