Believe it or not, I am just about done with my first week of school; we started on Monday with meetings and such...and freshmen came Wednesday...and the upperclassmen started today. What an exhausting week the first week of school is--one of my least fave weeks of the school year...not at all because I have to back to school, because I love getting back into the classroom...but, rather, because of all the 'beginning of the year' stuff that is so rote and exhausting and monotonous...
I am sure we still have several weeks of summer-like weather left, but, to me, the summer is over, because I no longer can be home each day with my kids (and my wife twice per week). This is tough for me actually; I get so used to being with the kids each day--being a 'stay at home dad' in the summer is an exhausting blast and I will miss it. If I could be so bold and frank, I would argue that 'dads' dont get thought of often as 'emotional' beings (like moms) who love being with their children all the time. From my point of view, this is totally wrong. Just another cultural misconception I guess. Pop culture portrays dads, quite often, unfairly. Oh well.
No picture, for me, serves as a better metaphor for my summer with Callum and Maira than the one below:
Simple. Full of light. Green. Outside. Hopeful. Wishing. No distraction. Intense. I love this picture.
I took this selfie last week or so with the kids...I will miss being with them each day; Callum just finished day 2 of kindergarten and Maira is back to Grenda's at daycare full time...she will start pre school next year!
CALLUM STARTED KINDERGARTEN!!! Where the hell did the time go?? Oh my goodness. More to come on this. His first day was good and exhausting. He said, and I quote, 'I loved it......kind of.' He is a little boy who loves structure and order...he LOVED being in the classroom with his teacher and classmates...he DID NOT like recess, because he said it was too crowded and all the swings and slides were taken....he said he didnt know what to do and it was boring (he is a shy, sensitive little guy). Also, he does not like the bus ride home....and I kind of dont blame him. We live less than a mile from the school, yet he has about a forty five minute ride home! I may pick him up sometimes...but it would be hard because I cannot leave that early because I am almost late in the morning as it is as I bring Maira to daycare....complicated situaish...
Last night, as expected, he was crying and saying how he hated school and school was the stupidest thing ever (haha). His big complaint was how it was 'too long,' even though I told him that, all told, it was probably two hours LESS than the time he spent at daycare/Grenda's. But, you cannot convince a six year old who is stuck in his ways...he is like an old Jewish retired glazier Papa I know....
Today was better; we did some 'counseling' with him last night and tried to get him to look at things differently...I think some of it may have worked because we had no probs tonight. For recess, he brought a book about whales and sat alone at a picnic table and read because, in his words, 'It gives me a nice break from everyone and is nice and relaxing..." Okay Amanda.
His school, by the way, like I mentioned, is less than a mile away from home. A nice view across the street--the town green where there are beautiful trees and benches and fields...every Friday in the summer there was a concert there...if you blow up the picture you can see, over on the far right, our great library!
This is his school; it was the original Lawrence High School way back in the 20s or 30s or something....I think this was the school used in the movie A CHRISTMAS STORY...haha. Now, it is only used for preschool programs and kindergarten...a beautiful old building....
And now we are back into the swing of things....and summer rides off into the sunset, I guess all that is left to say is "Happy Trails Callum and Maira.... until next June........"
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