'Twas the night before school

For three children, school starts tomorrow.
Rebi starts 9th grade next week, and Evan is staying home this year, so blissfully I only have 3 to get out the door tomorrow morning.

However, of those three, one has repacked her bag no less than 4 times. She is concerned about her PE clothes (which she won't need for a week or more), her pens and pencils (which are sharpened and in their own cases, separated by color), worried that she has enough lunch, grilling her older siblings on "middle school etiquette", and otherwise obsessing as I think most of her friends are in their own homes.

Another packed his bag with various and sundry: pencils, crayons, scissors, glue sticks. . .all of the necessities for first grade, then nearly threw a fit when I wouldn't let him take the book on Beginning Algebra since 1) it's heavy and 2) I think that doesn't send the right message straight out of the gate. I also was horrible enough to look in his "extremely secret lunch box and no one can see what's in it before lunch time tomorrow". He was furious, but it's fortunate I did since he packed a juice box which has been sitting in the cabinet for a few weeks with a hole in it. Prime conditions for fermentation, and ferment it had. That also doesn't send the right first impression, in my book! He wanted to take his backpack to bed with him, but I managed to convince him to leave it by his new clothes.

The fourth grader is the most confusing though. He was absolutely paralyzed by the choice between going to public school or staying home with 2 of his siblings. When we went to see who his teacher was, he burst into agonized tears, complete with shakes and shudders, even though he knows and likes her. I was resigned to home school him as well (a little panicked since the ADHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHD child may already be too much for me to handle), but when I told him I would email our facilitator and get him registered, he cried even harder. I finally made the decision for him, telling him that after one month of public school, if he hated it, we would bring him home. (I'm pretty sure he will love it, so keep your fingers crossed!) Tonight, Dave gave them all blessings and when he asked Ty if there was anything he was worried about (remember, we've been in ulcer mode all summer over this school year), Ty said, "Nope. I'm not worried about anything, Dad!"

Umm. . .excuse me? So the tears and the anxiety and the tantrums all summer were about WHAT exactly? I think I'm more amused than I am annoyed, but it's such a close tie I may need to re-examine my feelings in the matter.

And, as a portent of things to come, it's Sunday night and I have no bread for their lunches tomorrow. This kind of thing happens all year, so I guess I should get over my current feelings of defeat and head to the store.

Happy School for those of you that are also back!