Okay, peeps.
Once upon a time, circa 2017 or so, I did some rough calculations and realized two things:
First: I would have two, glorious golden years when all three kiddos would be in the same school!
And, second: I would have one, heinous year when all three kiddos would be in different schools.
Thanks to that realization, I lived up the golden years of the same-school situation in a BIG way. I volunteered a ton. I was present and grateful for the simplicity of the situation and it felt easy to dig in and be really involved and invested.
It was a joyful, elementary time, truly the prime years of my kiddos' collective elementary journey, and I have so many fond memories of that era.
And, now.
It's hard to believe, but we're on the flip side.
Back when I did the rough calculations, this time of life felt so very far away. Eons and lifetimes away. But....you know how it goes: even when the days are long the years are short, and we've already made it to that point. Wild!
So...
Elementary, Middle and High School all in one year...here we come!
I'll share a larger post as we dig into the nitty gritty of Chica launching her High School Journey, but for now, let me just say that our Back-to-School day felt like a whole 24-hour event, ha.
(Not really, but...kind of.)
We started in the morning at the High School with an Orientation Presentation, a Tour and some individual time spent hunting down classrooms.
Then--as terrible luck (or planning, on my part) would have it--we had to race to a Passport Renewal appointment for the whole fam, ha.
Then we rounded out the late/afternoon and early evening with a round at the Elementary School, before popping over to complete the day at the Middle School.
Whew!
That said...we managed to keep moods stable throughout the day and I felt pretty peaceful about it all by the end of the night.
For starters, I'm so proud of Chica and her attitude heading into this big High School transition.
She's exhibited the appropriate amount of excitement and anxiety, and I think it's certainly helped that she's been in steady contact with her friends this summer--and that she had to be on the High School campus for both Choir and Orchestra camps in July. That definitely helped to rip off the bandage and make the process of acclimating to the new school a bit easier.
In fact, she was steady enough after our Orientation and Tour on Thursday that we had a--dare I say?--joyful time trekking all over the academic buildings and learning the lay of the land.
She even approved some fun pics of her in the hallways, and we both enjoyed all the natural light and the windows of the lovely campus.
Thank goodness, Chica has her father's directional capabilities (translation: she can track where she is and read a map, ha). Even when I was all turned around in the hallways, she had it all figured out fairly well--and she's not overly stressed about showing up on Monday and making it to where she needs to go.
Like all my kiddos, I'm absolutely expecting a delayed meltdown in a few weeks' time. That's how it always goes for my crew, when reality sets in and the manic emotions of the school year launch have dissipated a bit. But...we'll handle it as it comes and just stay grateful for the positive momentum we have going!
Next up...Little Man!
Now, he's been a bit interesting this summer (again, a larger post for a later date). Definitely going through some of those mental and maturity growing pains of the early tween years, so his manifestation of school year anxiety has presented as moodiness. :(
Sometimes, I don't quite connect the dots when I'm wondering why he's high, low or somewhere in between, and then, I realize that the root of it has to do with a bit of fear and uncertainty heading into a new school year.
My boy always seems so unshakable and confident and ready to dive into whatever. But he's actually quite a soft soul who feels these transitions just as deeply as the girls.
Needless to say...he had a bit of a moody episode in the hour leading up to his Back-to-School event. And then, once we'd made it to campus and we'd connected with his friends, he was like a whole different child and vibe, and I realized all his crankiness from the hour prior was really just bottled up nerves.
I love my boy and all his moods--even the increasingly challenging ones--and I'm so looking forward to this milestone, 5th-grade year of his. Not to mention, our final child and final year of Elementary! (Again, a whole post for another day!).
And, last, but certainly not least: Chicklet!
Goodness, what to say about my beloved and challenging (these days) middle born????
She had a fantastic academic 6th grade year, but a more complicated social one.
She's grown more in the past 10 months--physically, mentally, and emotionally--than it feels possible for a single child to grow.
It's insane to have pictures appear on my phone that are exactly one year ago today and to acknowledge, right there with photographic evidence, how much she's changed.
I'm not gonna lie: I've earned a lot more grey hair and wrinkles this year as I've navigated Chicklet's growth (again, something for a whole separate, Big Picture post at some point in the near future).
But my hope--and the source of all my prayers--is that Chicklet will vibe and thrive in 7th grade!
In my personal opinion, 7th is the best of the Middle School years, and I have high hopes that it will be a lighter and brighter year for her.
If her own Back-to-School vibe is any indication, we might just have luck on this front.
I didn't even go into the building with her.
I sent her in with Chica and the two of them briefly walked the halls to find some classrooms, and Chicklet's mostly okay with winging it on the first day of school.
She's mastered her contact lenses, she's settled into her (current) sense of style, and she seems more at ease than even a few months ago, but...if there's one thing I've learned in my journey (so far) of raising tweens and teens, it's this:
Change is the only constant.
So I'm going to do my best to support her and ride out all the changes still to come.
And, hopefully, maintain a shred of sanity while I'm at it!
I love these three crazies of mine SO MUCH.
In fact, I feel like these days, I love them harder than ever--because parenting is so hard.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but...we're definitely not in the golden years era any longer. We're in that long and slightly depressing march toward our children's independence and are focused on instilling morals and strength of character that can withstand the eventually fleeing from the nest.
But I'm a BIG BELIEVER in finding the joy in every season. In appreciating my children for who they are, today, and learning how to bob and weave with the incessant demands of parenting these ever-evolving humans.
We're all a work in progress, amiright?
But I have HIGH HOPES for this landmark Elementary, Middle & High School year.
We're launching with positive 2026-2027 vibes and we're going to do our best to keep things light and bright!
Happy Final Weekend of Summer, peeps!
Over and out.
P.S. For anyone who's counting, I need to eventually do a post about:
How it feels to be wrapping up Elementary--FOR GOOD.
How Chicklet's growth and change has demanded so much from the entire family this past year.
How Chica is mentally prepping and navigating this big HIGH SCHOOL life transition.
I'll get to all of that...sometime. ;)
