The Beginning of the End

Of the last weekend of summer vacation, that is! I was just being a little dramatic there.

Today our family made a big decision to move all of our kids out of our school district and out to the school district where my husband is the Technology Director, 25 minutes away from our home.

Our oldest son is starting middle school this year. When I went to the orientation at the end of last school year, I was not excited about what I saw or heard. Now, I'm not talking about the staff at the school, they all seemed great and really dedicated to making the school a great place that would promote success for the kids, but as I looked around and listened to the other parents and students who would be going there, I was terrified. This was just the new 6th graders going into the school, not the 7th and 8th graders who would be there too! I heard more than one parent swear (now I don't live under a rock and I know that some people swear, but at a parent/student orientation at a school?), I'm pretty sure the mom in front of me was on some kind of drug, there were little girls with crazy hair colors and extremely short shorts, it was just a very uncomfortable feeling for me as I sat there. When we left, Gavin said something to me about some of the things we saw in there. I hadn't even said a word, but obviously it was bad enough for him to notice. Then, my husband went with him to the school open house on Wednesday night and they both came back saying nothing. I thought Gavin would be excited about seeing his classrooms and his new teachers, but he just went off into his room. I asked my husband if Gavin seemed excited while they were there and he said "No, not at all. In fact, he walked around with a scowl on his face the whole time we were there." Then my husband told me "I have to be honest, I am not at all excited about him going there either. The things I saw and heard while we were there are not something I want him exposed to everyday." I knew then that he had seen what I had seen back in June at the orientation. It was very unsettling for both of us.

Today, while my husband was at work, he called me and said that it was always still an option for Gavin to ride in with him in the mornings and go to school at the district he works for. He told me to mention it to him, see what he thought and then let him know what he said. A few minutes after I got off the phone, I called Gavin in to talk to him. Riley (my middle son) was sitting there too and I said "Gavin, it's always an option for you to go to school where Dad works if you wanted to." He didn't hesitate even for a second and said "Yes, I want to go to (the name of the school). I don't want to go to (the middle school in our district). That would be so awesome if I could go there!" Well, that did it. Then Riley said, "Could I go there too?" I said "Yeah, there's no reason why you couldn't." He totally freaked out and said how he had wanted to go there for a long time. I did mention to them about friends and things like that that they wouldn't see as much and they couldn't have cared less. They were all about going to the school where my husband works. Then I asked Asher (who is going into Kindergarten) if he wanted to go our district's school where he would go for 3 hours (half day) or to the other school where he would go for 6 hours (full day). He said "Yeah yeah, I want to go there for 6 hours! You said, 6 hours, right Mom? Yeah, I want to go there!" And so, I called my husband and told him all 3 kids really wanted to go there.

That was it. The decision was that easy. Now, all 3 of the boys are enrolled in that school and are so excited to start. I went from having a new middle-schooler who was absolutely miserable and full of apprehension about starting school to a kid who is over the moon with excitement. I have a 3rd grader who keeps saying "All I want to talk about is (name of school). That's it. I'm just so excited to go there. It's all I want to talk about." and a Kindergartener who keeps saying, "I get to go to school for 6 hours and learn where Dad works!" I'd say it was a great decision and our whole family feels so at peace with it and like it's exactly where God wants all of the kids to be. They are thrilled (as is my husband) to have Daddy all to themselves on their way to and from school each day. Not to mention, they will have an extra hour or so at the end of the school day where Daddy will still be working and they will have time to do their homework and hang out before heading home.

This leaves so many options open for me that I am thrilled about that I wouldn't have had if they stayed in our current district because I would have been making trips to the schools 5 times a day between different start and end times for elementary and middle school, and half day Kindergarten. Will I get a job? Will I finally get my home organized the way I've been dreaming of but never had the time to do? Will I be able to focus more on couponing and doing things to save our family extra money? The possibilites are endless and I'm excited to see where God takes me and my family this year. We all feel so relieved and excited about this decision and are all actually looking forward to the school year ahead of us. What a blessing it is to have this as an option for us and we are all so thankful.

So, here's to the last weekend of summer vaction for this year. Instead of being bummed that it's almost over and we're having to head back into days of getting up early and constant chaos of drop-offs and pick-ups, we are all looking forward to hanging out with friends and family for one last summer hurrah and then heading off on a new and exciting adventure to a new school and new schedule for all of us. God is so good!!!

So get out there and enjoy this holiday weekend! Be safe and may God bless your family with a weekend full of fun and memories and then a smooth transition back into school.