"First Day" Reflections

It wasn't his first day, but it was the first day of public school for a lot of the kids that he has grown-up with so far. I wasn't prepared for the sleepless night and the nostalgia that came with it. After all, we already started school "officially" and we had already been working on school off an on during the summer. Somehow though, nothing felt more "official" than having school start for his peers (and their Mommies) and realizing that our paths had started to diverge. Life still feels similar but it will never be exactly the same as it was when they were all pre-school kids together. In the beginning there were some growing pains as we started to find our new normal. While our normal is still changing and evolving we have begun a new routine. I have a feeling that we will go through this every year and probably again during the summer. Finding a "normal" may be an ever changing thing! I do know that I love having them both home. It's not always easy, but in the end things that are worth it often aren't. Many of ours days are magical and filled with sunlight, playing outdoors, socializing and breezing through a day of school lessons in an hour or two. But not all. My house is messier than ever. I love seeing a concept "click" and my child being excited about learning. Teaching handwriting to a boy is an exercise in patience. I love not having homework in the evening and seeing my children strengthen their friendship. I never set out on the path of parenthood with the intention of homeschooling but now that we are I can't help but feel that I am living the dream I never knew I had and we are blessed by it.