Hello, Big Yellow Bus… Goodbye Summertime.

This first day of school photo is a little bit of a miracle.

The kids are dressed and ready, several minutes before the bus arrived…the girls are wearing skirts and jumpers with all their buttons and both boys have belts and glasses on their noses. 

All shoes are tied and most miraculous of all… they are standing kinda close-ish to each other and smiling.

It was a happy first day for both kids and their parents.

Lilly began life as an eighth grader… oldest grade and so one of the big cheeses of middle school. 

Henry started his fourth grade year… the oldest biggest cheese grade of the lower school. 

Jamie was excited to begin the sixth grade but spent the last few weeks of summer consumed with fear over losing his long summer hair to a back to school haircut.

His fears were indeed realized, but we compromised and let him keep it in a longish over the ears style, which he is certain looks less cool then his flowing, swoopy summer hair.

I think he looks like a cute 80's kid but he was unconvinced.

But I do think our family spent more time than anyone really should dealing with 12 yr old guy hair anxiety. 

And Rosie jumped into the first grade with much happiness and a school uniform for the first time…bonus points to whoever came up with uniform blouses with Peter Pan collars….she looks ready to learn something awesome.

 Thank you Cincinnati Enquirer for putting color comics in the daily newspaper… today Henry was first read them.

Not long after I took this final before school photo Karl and I were alone in our kitchen….

It was eerily quiet.

And weird without our noisy, rowdy kids.

And then I had a little mom panic wave…

I realized that I was so worried about the logistics of getting them to school that I forgot to consider about what their first day would bring each of them.

More concerned about socks and buttons and shoes that fit rather than anything more important… too busy with the details to worry about the big stuff. 

But somehow, even without my needless mom worry,  they did just fine, and each kid reported a drama free and a happy first day.