August 10

After the longest summer vacation ever, the kids head "back" to school tomorrow: Brady to fourth grade, Isaac to seventh, and Abby to 11th -- the all-important (as she keeps reminding us) junior year of high school. Although the whole remote learning experience will be a new one for everyone, I experienced my own "new thing" this morning when I picked up Brady's fourth grade goodies from his brand new school.

It's hard to believe that I spent 11 years at his old school, but I did. Abby and Isaac both completed their entire elementary careers there, and I fully expected that Brady would, too. 

But then things changed; the PTA experience went from a good thing to a very bad one in the blink of an eye. I wanted to escape last year, but I loved the third grade teachers there and didn't want to miss out on Brady having one of them. And so we stayed.

And then the new house thing happened and the moving thing happened, which opened the door to the let's just transfer him to his neighborhood school thing. So that's what we did and that's where I was this morning, picking up his things. 

I know he's nervous about starting over in a new place with a teacher he's never seen and kids he doesn't know, but I'm hopeful that this will be a very good thing for him. And a long-awaited chance for healing for me. So all worries and concerns aside, I am thankful for the opportunity to begin anew.