Big Day

The first day of school is always a big day at our house and yesterday was no exception. For Audra and Sierra it was much the same as last year, but for our boys it was a whole new ball game, going to a brand new school.

It's no secret that children from the same family environment do not necessarily posses the same attitudes, personalities, temperaments, etc. Never is this glaringly more obvious to me than during the course of our back-to-school rituals. Briefly, let me summarize personalities:

Audra (15) is confidant, extremely social, intellectual and self-reliant. Much to my chagrin, she often feels that rules do not apply to her, as if she is above the rules. This is not to say that she does anything wrong or improper, she just feels rules are general guidelines for everyone else. She already knows what to do.

Sierra (13) is also confidant, extremely street-smart, thinks two steps ahead and ALWAYS flys by the seat of her pants. As Audra recognizes there are rules for other people, Sierra does not even go this far. Sierra believes that SHE makes the rules and can also change the rules at any time to accommodate herself. Sierra believes that all discord, problems or accidents that happen to her are someone else's fault. (We are working on this)

Buck (11) is confidant, self-reliant, off-the-charts diligent, capable, very smart and responsible. For Buck, rules are rules - set in stone - and there is no grey. If someone makes a rule, he will be the first to follow it and will also enforce the rule. (Teachers love him) He is rigid, focused, goal-oriented and experiences high levels of stress.

Colton (9) is overly confidant, happy, freakishly smart, exceedingly active and capable. He, like Sierra, flys by the seat of his pants yet like Buck, is very much a rule follower and also suffers from a small dose of perfectionism. This, for poor Colton, has his short little wick always ablaze. He is hot tempered and quick acting, similar to a small bomb. Colton does not need parents, except to drive him around.

So, as I staggered into the kitchen for my first-day-of-school-this-is-way-too-early cup of coffee at 5:45 yesterday morning, it didn't surprise me that both Audra and Buckley were completely ready to go. Their beds were made, they had eaten breakfast and looked like a million bucks, all before 6 am. After drinking my coffee and slipping into my clothes, I woke the other two. It took Sierra 15 minutes to get up and when she finally did, she asked why I didn't wake her earlier and inferred that I would make her late. Colton, on the other hand, said that he only needed 15 minutes to get ready and wanted me to wake him as everyone else was heading out to the car. I dragged his little body out of bed and sat him in front of some oatmeal. He cried.

By 7:00, the troops were looking good, tears were dried and we headed outside for a couple quick photos. I (jokingly) suggested having them stand in front of the school office, but the girls were mortified, as I'd predicted. After snapping a few pictures in the driveway, we were soon in the car and on our way. We said our usual morning prayer as we drove and then discussed how everyone was feeling.

Buck, having already gone to all of his classrooms last week so he knew where every one of them would be and having also memorized his schedule, felt prepared. In this first year of middle school, he has 6 different teachers and classes spread out over the whole campus. Buck also put his lock on his locker last week - there, on the front of 100 lockers, was the lock of the most diligent boy.

Audra had girls camp day, so hers was a free day of just Freshman/Sophomore girl fun. Even though HS kids were bringing their backpacks, she took nothing but her phone and lip gloss. When I asked Sierra what her first class was, she said, "I have no idea and I forget what my locker combination is." Buck immediately rattled off Sierra's locker combination and told her where her first class was. Thank goodness for the diligent one! Colton had his backpack loaded like rocks with supplies and hefted it onto his back for the short journey to class, refusing help from anyone and he did not want me to walk him to his room.

It ended up being a great first day and the kids came home to their traditional first-day-of-school homemade cherry chocolate cake, or as they call it, the world's best cake. We talked about new teachers, new friends and new adventures. As we chatted, my mind drifted away imagining the day we will send them off to college. That day used to feel so far away, but now it's looming large on the horizon, yelling loudly and looking me squarely in the eye.

As much as I'm thrilled with what wonderful people they are growing up to be, I'm closing my eyes and plugging my ears!