In The Hartland: First Day of School!

Well, it finally happened. After 1.5 years, all three of my children returned to in-person school five days a week. If someone had told me this back on March 13, 2020 when school was first shut down for the Coronavirus pandemic, I seriously would have fallen over. It probably is a good thing that I had no idea what was coming down the pike when this all started. But I digress...

Anyways, for some unexplained and ridiculous reason, our school district decided last year to start school BEFORE Labor Day weekend for the first time since Lia has been a student in this district. It's makes no sense and is a bit of a bummer, but I will just choose to focus on the positive and be grateful that all of my children are in school full-time. Now that Lia is really attending junior high (as opposed to the pathetic, two half-days-a-week schedule of in-person instruction that she attended for three months last spring), she had to be out the door by 7:10 for the first time this morning. This is crazy early for her considering the fact that she has slept in past 8 a.m. most mornings for over a year. However, she got up all on her own when her alarm went off at 6:10 and I met her downstairs to make her breakfast and pack her lunch in time to send her out the door to meet her friend, Alyssa, who lives up the hill so that they could walk to school the rest of the way together. Since Lia attended school for a half day yesterday (more to come on that below), she wasn't as nervous this morning as she could have been and quickly ate her breakfast and breezed out the door with barely enough time for me to take a picture of her. She sure looked grown up walking down our driveway while calling Alyssa on her phone. It's amazing to me how Lia has changed from the little girl I used to drop off at Shaw Road skipping and running towards school with a princess backpack on her back.

Since Lia left so early, we almost had two hours to kill before I needed to leave to take Logan and Ella down to their elementary school. Ella was so excited for school to start that she could barely contain herself. She seriously was as excited as she is on Christmas morning! Since Logan is my one child who hates all things new and anything to do with change, he was less than thrilled to be heading out to school this morning. Luckily, I know my boy and he will start to like school again in a matter of days once he gets used to his teacher and his new class. Ella has Mr. Strand who was Logan's 2nd grade teacher and who is amazing! She is absolutely thrilled about this and is also in the same class with three of her four closest friends from school (Elise, Madelyn, and Audrina), so that is a total bonus. Logan has Mrs. Arnett who was Lia's 4th grade teacher who I really like, too. Of his four closest friends from school, one (Eli) moved to Michigan last Spring and two (Mason and Bennett) joined the Quest program this year which means he will never be in the same class with them again. Luckily, Logan's fourth and final friend, Benton, was placed in the same class with him which is a total blessing.

We managed to make it down to school in what I thought was "on time," but due to the insane amounts of traffic caused by so many extra parents dropping off their kids on the first day of school, the final bell rang as we were walking to Ella's entrance. She ran ahead of me and I barely was able to catch up to her to take a picture before she walked through the door. By the time Logan and I made it to the back of the school so that he could enter through his designated entrance, we were a few minutes late. Luckily, since it's the first day of school, our tardiness doesn't really matter. Emmett and I said a quick 'goodbye' first to Ella and then to Logan before sending them on their way and then that was it. For the first time in one and a half years, my baby boy and I were on our own. I almost couldn't believe it. I must admit that a massive weight suddenly lifted off my shoulders as Emmett ran to the school playground thinking that it was time to play. And although Emmett has told me several times this morning that he also wants to go to school and has asked me several times where his siblings are, it is just amazing to be alone with him. After running a few errands, we came home, put on our swim suits, filled up his baby pool, and spent an hour playing together in the backyard. We even had a picnic lunch while sitting on our beach towels on the sports court before coming back into the house for naptime. It was just such a joy to be with my little boy all on our own for the first time in a long time.

After such a difficult and exhausting 1.5 years of trying to manage a baby-now-toddler while homeschooling three older children while trying to run a household, I am so incredibly grateful that Washington state has seen the light and allowed our children to return to full-time, in-person school. I pray every day that my children will not be behind academically, socially, and physically for years to come as a result of how strict our state has been with school, sports, and activities for children. So, although we cannot go back and change the past, I sure hope that my children are allowed to continue with everything in their lives at a full-time capacity from here on out. If it weren't for the Delta variant of the Coronavirus raging rapid in our country right now due to all of the incredible foolish and selfish people who have refused to get vaccinated, I would be extremely optimistic that this pandemic was on its way out. However, since the numbers of infected people are not looking good in our country at the current moment, I worry that our state will pull the plug any day on in-person school and after-school sports and activities. Oh well, time will only tell...

Lia on her way out to school yesterday, September 1st.

Since all of the junior high and high school students never even came close to full-time instruction last school year, our district realized that many secondary education students were not fully comfortable with starting school this fall. As a result, they planned a voluntary, "Smart Start" half day for the day before the first day of school. Although Lia did NOT want to go, Ron and I insisted that she attend. This allowed her to go to all six of her classes, plus homeroom, for 30 minutes each yesterday. She was able to meet all of her teachers, find all of her classes, and learn that she had a friend in two of her classes. Although she is still very unhappy about not being able to go to the junior high downtown with her closest friends and 99% of her 6th grade class from elementary school, it still was nice for her to find out that she does know someone in two of her classes. In addition, our nextdoor neighbor and very good friend, Kyle, transferred to her school this past summer and is her fourth period, English teacher. Since he only teaches three periods a day, it is kind of amazing that he was assigned to teach 8th grade English and that Lia was placed in one of his classes. So, that also will help Lia to feel a little more at "home" at Ferrucci. Although she is still feeling lots of apprehension about barely knowing anyone at school and also starting x-country next week (when her one friend from church who was going to participate with Lia changed her mind), I am hoping that Lia will be brave enough to make friends, get involved, and allow Ferrucci to become her new home away from home. If this doesn't happen, we have promised her that we will waiver her into Kalles for her 9th grade and final year of junior high. We shall see how this all turns out...

Lia posing on the steps on her first official day of 7th grade, although it was technically her second day of school.

Logan, Emmett, and Ella posing for our traditional, first-day-of-school picture on the front steps without Lia at their side for the first time ever.

Ella posing for the first time as a big, 2nd grader! I honestly feel like she should still be in Kindergarten.

Ella happily showing off the new, mermaid-themed backpack that we bought the other week.

Logan standing tall and proud as a big, 4th grader. He is officially one of the "older kids" in his school this year and, although he looks the part, I still can't believe how fast time is flying!

The three kids giving me a smile behind their masks as we headed through the side gate to school this morning.

Ella pausing for one last picture before walking into school to find her classroom.

Logan and Emmett walking up the back steps to the entrance designated for 4th graders. I had to tell Emmett to stop walking with Logan as he seriously would have gone right into school with him. Emmett was so confused and distressed this morning when he saw all of his siblings going to school without him! The poor, little guy. He is really going to miss his brother and sisters for the next few weeks until he adjusts to them not being around all the time for the first time in a long time.