It seems as soon as I get comfortable with summer it is over. The summer of 2007, flew by without incident at the Risper household. My children kept me quite amused and busy.
But this year it seems as though summer came to a crashing halt the day after Labor Day. The daily grind of summer psychosis had stopped somewhat as I watched Amir,5, who is in all day kindergarten get on the bus for the first time along with his sister Anissa, 6.
No tears for me. I waited for the day when I could sit down and hear myself think or go to a day meeting without rushing through it.
For everyone, it is not about the first day of school, it is the second day and the first week of school that shows if you’ve got what it takes to be a mommy. You have to get back into the swing of things. Ironing clothes, fixing lunches,packing notes for teachers regarding allergies and general likes and dislikes.
As mom with a home office, my life was crazy during the summer. The first "FULL" day of school for all of my children seemed like a destination in a far fetched fantasy. With the excitement of the first day of school, I tried to involve them in as many decision making issues as possible. I asked, "Do you want black pants, black skirt or a black jumper?" I love uniforms!!!
I watched as the hazy brilliance of a sweet blue and tangerine sky after the bus left. The sky told telling me that change was about to come. I heard the leaves rustle which told me that the leaves are about to fall (and we all need to get ready for HIGH gas bills).
I thought about how I have to compartmentalize my life for all of my sweet children. I would have to learn how to turn off certain emotions for one and turn on others for the ones who needed their daily fix of hugs.
I felt lonely on my first day alone. It was so quiet and I didn’t have an excuse not to get things done. I ran errands and when I came back I started to file papers. I thought this is great. I have more time to clean more. So I decided to stop cleaning and went to the post office. I thought this is great. I have more time to read all of the junk mail too. I left the post office and felt kind of lost.
I didn’t have three children to watch over. I went home and waited for my children to get home.
As soon as the bus arrived, they both ran off of the bus. Amir began to tell me that there was a giraffe on the bus and someone had been frying in eyeball. My goodness. I wonder where he gets that imagination from. He was cracking himself up. Anissa told me about her new friends and her new teachers.
Gianni, 15, complained about the 30 minute lunch and the closed campus at school. I told him that I was very happy that there are closed campuses and also that he would have to eat and get to his next class quickly.
I was so tired by the end of the day, I turned in early. As I closed my eyes for the last time, I thought "Thank goodness for uniforms at least I know what the babies are wearing tomorrow. Thank goodness for closed campuses at least I will know that my teenager is still in school after the lunch hour.”
It has been a week and I am still getting used to the quiet. I will be taking two classes and making some major technical changes to the paper. I will keep you posted!!
Sincerely,
Rina Risper
