Anticipation

A Clean Slate

Today I cleaned off our giant magnet board, which is divided into halves for both Josie and Patrick by our growing magnet collection (my favorite is the one of a six-pack of sushi) in the back entryway of the house. It had various summer crafts, church stuffs, and the final report card from last year for each kid. Now it is as bare and fresh as the new school year.

For the first time, I wish the summer had been longer. The whole rotating-week-at-camp strategy worked so well that the kids rarely fought, and actually got along better than they ever have before. They were both really busy, both separately and together, with friends, karate, camps, and neighborhood stuff that it all flew by. It was only the last two weeks that really seemed to be mellow at all, for me, at least. I suppose all the fun was relaxing for them, since they didn't have to transport themselves to or from, or pack anything, or do any of the pre- or post-cleaning (other than toy and game stuff). For me, PHEW.

The last several mornings, we've hung out in bed together, watching Word Girl and Fetch on PBS, squished in with the dogs, laughing. It's been lovely, and I'm going to miss it, and them, when I drop them off in the morning. I wish it was longer.

Josie's in fifth grade now, and it's the last year she and Patrick will share a school, ever. Fifth grade goes away for a week at the end of the year to a sleepaway camp. I will presumably start working again at least a few days a week, and they will be walking home on those days. Patrick will have a desk of his own, rather than sharing a table with classmates. I know that tomorrow, unlike last year, he will not be walking through the doors holding his sister's hand as she guides him to his room each morning for a week. He will feel the superiority of the child who is no longer the youngest one around when he sees all the K kids walking around, wide-eyed.

I'm so proud of them both, and I can't wait to fill that board back up with all the new and wonderful things that they will bring home to me. It's like making a collage of who they are becoming, in real time, each semester. Like it, they are ever-changing works in progress.