
This is the first year since my little guy was in preschool that my kids aren't going to the same school. Arden is in junior high now and Perry is still in elementary school. Arden wakes up at 7:15 am and catches the bus at 7:45 am, sometimes before Perry is even awake. I hurry her out of her bed and over to the table where she grudgingly eats a few bites of her breakfast, eyes half-closed. But then, with a jolt of energy that comes from out of nowhere, she hurries to get dressed, brush her teeth, grab her things, and bound out the door. It took some getting used to, sending her on her way, off to school, without me. Now it seems normal.
Perry wakes up, eyes wide open, hungry and ready for breakfast (eating about five times more than his sister). He's chatty and busy and excited that it's just him and me in the mornings. We go over his homework or practice his spelling words again and in about an hour, we leave for our walk to school. He holds my hand and tells me about the activities that are planned for the day. He explains how his teacher writes the daily schedule on the chalkboard. He likes that. He likes to know what to expect (as much as he likes being surprised by something unexpected on the chalkboard).
It's weird how fast the day goes. Any mom of school-aged children will tell you this. You've got tons of time yet no time at all. Before I know it, I hear the heavy engine of the school bus driving back up our hill. In a few minutes, Arden bounds back through the door, kicking off her shoes, and dropping her astronomically heavy backpack with a giant thud to the floor. She starts in with the stories she's been waiting to tell me all day. I have three funny stories for you, Mom. One you're gonna like, one you're gonna hate and one you're gonna think is hilarious. (I feel exactly the way she tells me I will. One I hate, one I like, and one I think is hilarious.) And after the quick debriefing of the day's events, it's time to get Perry.
Arden likes to walk with me to pick him up (because she's usually not done with her storytelling) and I like it, too. When we get to school and see Perry, he smiles when he sees both of us. He has a million things to tell me. Mom, I had the best day of my life today for three reasons! Can you guess what they are?! Of course I never know what they are and that's part of the fun for him; he likes to tell me things that I don't know. After a few minutes, there's a lot of interrupting and talking over the other one until I'm forced to play referee and demand we take turns.
It's a different routine from last year, and the last three years before that. We'll never have that old routine again. The kids won't be in the same school until Perry is a freshman in high school and I'm pretty positive they won't be walking to school, hand in hand. But this new schedule is good, too. They get time to be on their own. Time with their friends. Time with me. And especially some much needed time away from each other — to think in quiet.

And for me? Well, I'll just keep plugging along.
ANY