My boys are back in school - Jack in Pre-K and Drew in second grade. There are no more babies in my house...not really anyway.
I remember second grade. I remember a few things from Kindergarten and first grade, but I definitely remember second grade.
The merry-go-round on the playground (whatever happened to those anyway?).
Getting a bad grade from my teacher and tearing the paper up furiously - even at only age 7, I certainly did NOT deserve that!
Starting to have "crushes" on boys.
Developing friendships that would last, if not a lifetime, for many, many years.
It's harder to differentiate my memories of "home," as I can't put a school year on them. But I know that many of the things I remember from our first house in New Orleans must have happened around second grade, since we moved to our new house when I was eight. The fig tree in the backyard. The slugs by the garage (ick!). Visiting my elderly neighbor and watching TV with her - she always gave me Cokes. Playing at my friend's house around the corner. They had a REALLY cool playroom.
Of course we have pictures. And some videos too (back then we watched them on a film reel). But it's nothing like what we have today. And while I often curse technology, I'm so grateful for the thousands of photos we have of our kids since the moment they were born. The digital videos that live on my computer so that we can remember every birthday party and important moment. (I do wish I could find the time to actually make prints and get them all into books though!)
Drew stepped off the bus today with a huge grin on his face. That moment will only be captured in my memory. We went inside, had leftover cupcakes from Jack's birthday, and he told me all about his day. The new basketball hoop on the playground; the friend he wanted to invite to our house for a sleepover; how I needed to BE SURE to pack him a lunch tomorrow because he does NOT like pizza day.
Then we worked together on his homework. And I let him ride his bike around the neighborhood in search of friends to play with outside. Time to let go... a little bit at a time.
These are good days and hopefully he'll remember them. My memory - well that's another subject altogether. I'm just thankful for the pictures and videos!
Congrats to last week's winners: For Sesame Street Live, Lori H. For Cirque Motion AWAKEN, Rachael B.; for the Divine Children's Show, Cecilia H. More great stuff this week!
Enjoy the end of summer...I can't believe how cool the mornings have been already. Soon I'll be writing about corn mazes and Halloween! Check the Macaroni Discounts & Offers article - there's already a deal on the North Georgia Corn Maze available!
Michelle
