Back to School

Oh dear...there is so much to write about the last month but it was so emotionally exhausting that I don't know if I can do it.  I hope I will.  Especially about Haiti.  But every time I come back, my heart is so raw that it takes me quite awhile to heal before I can talk about it much.

For now I will just post a little about back to school.  I talked to the principal at my school for quite awhile before summer started to tell her my concerns about Addie and also the other 2--what I hoped for and what I felt they needed in a teacher.  I am very happy to report that Addie was assigned to the teacher known to be the very best and the most kind in the entire school.  After meet-the-teacher-night, she was so excited for school to start.  I wasn't sure how it would go but she's doing great.  Andre's teacher, as I requested, is a young black woman named Ms. Chatman and she has a ton of sass and is super fun.  I really wanted Andre to have this kind of exposure and its awesome.  I've often read in transracial adoption books that adopted black children have a hard time relating to African Americans but I think Andre is now getting so much exposure so early that it is not going to be a problem for him to relate to kids from any race or culture.  He's amazing.  Grace's teacher seems wonderful, as well.  Sadly, she is undergoing chemotherapy right now for breast cancer and has lost her hair.  I'm giving her some of my "shandanas". :)

One really convenient thing about our neighborhood is that even though it only takes about 5 minutes to drive to the school, we are just far enough away to ride the bus.  It comes and picks up the kids right at our front door and brings them back to me at the same spot.  The first morning Jason stayed home with the littles and I drove the kids to school to help get them to their classes safely.  First Andre went in, then Grace, then Addie.  I was seriously just sick to my stomach to watch each of them nervously look around, sit quietly at their desks and then wave to me.  They all looked fine.  But for me it was too much.  After I hugged Addie super tight and her teacher assured me over and over again that she would take good care of her, I quickly left before she could see me cry.  Then the tears started coming and wouldn't stop.  I don't have the words with me or the energy to write down all the emotions of taking the kids to yet another new school and to see their brave faces as they embraced yet another new challenge.  And I worried about Addie making any friends or being bullied and I thought about our kids in Haiti...and well...anyway...I'm really proud of my kids.  They are doing so well at taking things in stride.  Much better than I am, it seems!

On their way into the school with fingers indicating their grade.

 

Off the bus right after school.  They all had a great first day!

 

Miles was pretty upset the first day when he didn't get to go to school with the kids.  I finally convinced him that "homeschool preschool" is "real" school.  He has a backpack which he fills with his preschool book, several reading books, his alphabet chart, markers, and various toys.  It is really heavy!  But he carries it around most every where--ready for school any time any place!  He gets it first thing when he wakes up in the morning and goes to choose his snack for the day out of the same basket the other kids get to choose (a baggy of goldfish crackers, pretzels, etc).  We could put Miles in preschool this year but I couldn't stand to do it.  What is wrong with me?  My first kids I couldn't wait til they were old enough to go!  Next year I think I will have to find something for him to do (well I actually already found a preschool twice/week but decided not to do it this year) because we have all-day kindergarten here.  What a shock to his system that will be!  Especially if I don't have him ever leave me for one minute of the day.  So...I think we'll do it next year.  But for now I just always want my babies as my babies as long as possible!