First Week of School Thanksgivings

Well the first week of school has come and gone and I can say I am truly thankful for so many reasons.  Here are a few.

1. Rykauna's first week of Grade nine at a high school where she did not know anyone went amazingly well.  Our dear eldest made the difficult decision of opting to go to the closest high school instead of remaining in an academic enrichment program that would require her to take a nearly 1.5hr one way city bus commute.  Realizing the extra time saved would prove valuable, she chose to start grade nine the hard way... with no friends to accompany her.  Although she misses all her great friends at the other school she is comfortable with her choice.  She has quickly made some new friends and even had one come over Friday after school to hang out and have supper with us!

2.This school year is starting out on an exciting note for Logan because the new middle school he just started attending on Tuesday has lots of extra-curricular sports going on.  Last school year the teachers were on a "work-to-rule" program and all extra-curricular programs were cancelled until about May.  For an active boy like Logan, this was a real drag.  Although Logan does well academically, he is not really fond of school work.  The 'other' stuff is what makes school enjoyable for him.  Hopefully this year will be really enjoyable.

3. Hudson started grade three in typical Hudson-style... very little fanfare, just going 'cause that is what you do'.  No big complaints, no big excitement.  The only change for him has been the bus.  I have in past years opted to drive him instead of putting him on the bus since the bus would pick him up at the local English school.  The distance to the English school is not much less than the drive to his French Immersion school so I have always driven him.  This year, with Li Lin attending the local English school, and him attending the French school, I had to put him on the bus as their start times are too close together to drop both of them off.  I have managed to figure out a way to pick both of them up though.  It requires me leaving with her as soon as she gets out but it saves him an over one hour bus ride home!  The actual distance by car is only about five minutes.    I am SO thankful we worked out a way to pick him up.  The poor boy was coming off the bus looking exhausted and telling me matter-of-factly that the "air circulation on the bad wasn't the greatest."  Yup, that is as upset as he gets.  No other complaints.  His face lit up though, when after two days of the afternoon bus, I told him he would not take the bus home anymore.

4. Li Lin.  I had been dreading this week all summer.  Mainly because I was not looking forward to the drama of settling her into a school routine.  She told me frequently since registering her in June that she "hated that school", was "not going to go", and that she wanted to go "back to my Chinese school".  Yes, that is the Chinese preschool that she complained about almost every time I sent her.  She actually loved it there but would complain anyway even though she would not necessarily want to leave right away when I picked her up!  I knew she actually secretly liked it and my feelings were confirmed because when I took her out in June she cried saying she "loved her Chinese school."   Two nights before English school, she started crying in her bed and telling me she was "scared to start school", did "not want to be away from me", and the next morning even told me she was "stupid, not smart."   I  comforted her as best I could during these times and reassured her that kids who learn to speak fluent English in under a year are definitely smart!  She looked at me with the "Oh man, even that excuse failed", look  and my dread levels definitely soared.  The night before school, I was optimistic that it would go well though because in her bedtime prayer she asked God (while speaking in the third person), "Please help Li Lin not be scared when she goes to school tomorrow."  She woke up Thursday morning full of energy and ready for school.  When I dropped her off she quickly, confidently, walked into the class alone , put her shoes in the correct cubby, then turned to me timidly to wave good-bye.  I was afraid she might lose her resolve to stay there, so I quickly said a goodbye and left.  It was unbelievable!   No tears.  No drama.  The bedtime prayer of a little girl was definitely answered in front of my eyes.  She has not looked back either.  She even begrudgingly admits to liking it.  It was so heartwarming yesterday to pick her up from school and see her happily skipping across the school yard.  I am a thankful and a happy mom seeing her so happy attending school.

Just before heading off to school.  The other children had already left for school.  The other kids were not keen on a photo today.  I think they thought it was more a little kid thing and didn't want it to have their pic taken. 

5. Thankful to have more time to spend with God.  As much as I thoroughly enjoy having my kids home with me in the summer, I do like the routine the school year provides.  With everyone including Steph off their usual routine in the summer months, I sometimes find the chaos of a lack of routine makes me more inefficient with my time thus resulting in less personal, quiet time with HIM.