First.

The first day of school is always a big deal at our house– Maybe more on the part of the mother than the 3 children, but nonetheless I love making a yearly tradition of its culmination. I’m not sure why it is that I love to make it meaningful– maybe a combination of things– like knowing how loved I felt when my Mom did little things like send a note in my lunchbox, and maybe because I hate to see them get on that school bus again. And maybe, well, maybe because their world has been a little upside down of late.

Oh, summer, why do you leave us too soon every year? And why must these three children of ours with their grins and twinkling eyes grow older so quickly, anyway? Joel started Intermediate school this year– which means leaving for school an hour earlier than last year, and entering the 5th grade. I’m still trying to figure out when and how that happened so soon…  Connor and Nora are beginning 2nd grade, which would make more sense if that number were a typo. Alas, it is not.

So it was this morning, that although I am not as full of energy or able to decorate as I’d like, we still tried to make it special. Well, Paul did the heavy lifting, and I did the planning. I used whatever we had– even decorations from my surprise 30th birthday party (thanks, sisters!), and lovely flowers from friends, and we surprised the kids with new plates to make it look a little spiffy. Thank you, Paul, for humoring me and doing the hanging, taping, and setting. Because having had surgery or healing or diagnosis or not, I decided these three kids should still have a mother who wants to start the year with a little pep amidst it all.

(This morning was the first time I picked up the camera in quite some time. It felt good– even if it seemed much heavier than I ever remember.  –I apologize for the quality of the images– who knew it was so dark early in the morning?)

Yes, I took the image on the right while standing inside the house. Because one thing I know is this: 5th grade boys don’t need their mothers embarrassing them with a huge black camera in hand…

This little boy is an early riser, and always gets quietly excited for the first day-

His twin sister, on the other hand, is quite the opposite. Let’s just say this photo was taken after some tears, and a call to Grandma, and a call from a friend. And then, all was well:

<–Yes, they are twins. Less than a minute apart. I promise. Really. I know. I was there.

~

And so it begins- a new routine, and some alone time for a certain mother. Which, I’m finding, is not such a bad thing.

*Adorable food face plates can be found here and here, for girls.  And the chalkboard markers? One of my favorite things. From here.

Happy First Day!