first day lamentations

There often are a lot of tears on the first day of school...mine.

I cried the first day of kindergarten (my mom has pictures). I cried for the first three days when Brie started kindergarten.

I cried after my first day at my new high school in England and for a month after. A combination of tumultuous teenage emotions + moving to a new country.

I don't think I cried my first day of university, though I might have after my first business math and economics classes.
And I cried today. Because first days and the change and uncertainty they bring often reduce me to tears.

It all started out well with (vegan) Back to School Blueberry Pancakes.

...and a few first day pictures (thanks for the fun card idea Jenn!)

 

 

But then there were a few bumps along the way. Mostly little things like figuring out to walk two children to two different classrooms from two different entrances and having to leave Brie, uncertain and almost tearful in her classroom.

What really set me crying though was finding out our crossing guard for the busy and dangerous intersection we face daily was cut because the city doesn't have enough people interested in taking on this worthy task. Having close calls with a couple cars today was bad enough, but it was how I handled the situation that still has me cringing because I chose impatience over trust.

I'm thinking this deserves a whole separate post because of the lessons it contains - for me - and I want to process it separately.

Thankfully, the day ended on a positive note and I feel restored again. Chalk it up to prayer and repentance, a brief cat nap and positive first day experiences for Brianna and Reese.

And to this. Cause I'm going to need it, and probably more than once a day.

In a somewhat related aside...

Although the calender says it's still summer, the first day of school tells me we're in a new season, and, as you can see (if you're reading this via email, you can click here), I changed the blog header to reflect that. I think to think of these next few weeks as bonus summer days. Maybe a second summer even? I like the sound of that. Especially since we usually have 6 months of chilly weather.

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