Two outta three ain't bad

This is the car rider line today...can you see the school way up there to the right, through the trees? Do you see all my fellow- psychotic- drive- their- kids- to- school- parents who have joined me in the twice daily ritual of drop off and pick up? 

I am only a few cars back from the STOP sign on the road that goes to the school..lucky me! Actually, I am lucky since the line today is about 1.5 miles shorter than it was yesterday..I'm not exaggerating.  And nothing says fun like getting in line about 35 minutes before school actually lets out.  I'm hoping more parents ditch their kids on the bus so I can be near the front of the line with a minimal time investment in the future.  Thank goodness I have some skills at creative budgeting since me getting a job would really screw up the kids car riding mojo!! And can I get an Amen for the gas prices being $.30 cheaper a gallon than they were a month ago...cause I am totally sitting in my air conditioned car for all of this..environment be damned!  And just so you all know..this was just for Zach and Brooke's school, an hour later in the morning and the afternoon, I do it all over again for sweet Miles.  Next year we are gonna have to change it up a bit because they will be in 3 different schools and I'm good, but that would take some magic!

So, par for the course, Brooke and Zach were rip roaring and ready to go to school this morning. They both had great days yesterday and were ready to get back and get into it again today. Zach is in a Pre AP program and he is loving the idea of that challenge.  They were excited about seeing new friends and just being in school again.   Miles..not so much...and that's putting it mildly!!

This morning, as an option instead of the fetal position, there was Miles with his head laying on the dining room table, refusing breakfast...not rudely...he just said he wasn't hungry.  Ok - CRASH...BOOM...BAM...EEK...HOLD THE PHONE...OH GOODNESS, THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END...THE SKY MUST BE FALLING...HAVE THE MUNCHKINS ESCAPED FROM MUNCHKINLAND?...WHAT THE FLIP IS GOING ON HERE???? 

Now Miles frequently claims he is "starving to death" but he NEVER, and I mean NEVER, refuses a meal.  The kid  is 13 years old, is almost 6 feet tall, wears a size 14 mens shoe, has knee joints bigger than I've ever seen and believe me I've never once, since the day I birthed all 10 pounds, 1 ounce of him (naturally, thank you),  heard him say "no" to a meal...he's my foodie!!  This called for some serious intervention.  In addition, there were requests for staying home, for home schooling, for taking a year off ????, for angelic behavior forever more if I just didn't make him go to school today (I knew he was delirious then).  I talked him down, made him have juice and toast and convinced him that today would be easier and more fun than yesterday....hoping- hoping- hoping I was right and it would be great for him today. Yesterday wasn't bad, just stressful. It's hard to be the new kid.  Let's face it the kid has been to like 6 schools in 10 years...that's a lot of transitions. He looked so defeated this morning when he got in the car...I felt so bad for him, and for me, because face it, I was coming home to cry for him!!

I picked him up today after school praying for the best, but prepared for bad news.  Thank goodness his day today went better and he actually had a big smile on his face.  He made some new friends, ate lunch with some kids from class, and just all around felt great about the transition.  I felt bad for him because he kinda had two first days.  They do A days and B days and each days classes are different and the lunch schedule for each day is different, with different kids, so it's especially hard to get into a routine, since yesterday was different from today essentially.  I think ultimately it will be great because he'll expand his friendship base and have a variety of things going on but man I...I mean he... was on pins and needles.  We talked at length this afternoon and he said he's not nervous about tomorrow at all.  Maybe I'll get some sleep tonight.  He's a brave kid, braver than me and I'm so proud of him for NOT calling from the school to come get him.  It would have been easy, he knows I would have broken down and come to get him but he hung in there and that says so much about him.  

Charlie and I have really great kids, have I mentioned how much I love them? I'm pretty sure tomorrow when I drop them off I'm actually gonna enjoy my quiet time.  

Big sigh!!!!