Son up to Son Down

The alarm goes off at 6am and I just lay there for a few minutes trying to feel peace when really anxiety fills my mind and body. My dear son will have his 2nd day of 7th grade and neither one of us is happy about it. Its so hard to start your day so worried and so sad. I know what it is like to sit by yourslef at lunch and my heart breaks for him. To be in a brand new school without knowing anyone is hard. period. It would be so nice to at least see a familiar face in the sea of 1100 students most of which are way taller than expected for this age. I try to stop worrying. Jump in the shower, do strength training exercises, sing to the kids "Good morning Good morning , ITS A HAPPY DAY today..." with an enormous smile despite my concerns. We eat breakfast as a family, I make all 3 their lunches for the day, we gather papers, backpacks, sweatshirts etc, we style hair because after all you do need to look cool in Jr. high, Jordan and I hug in the bathroom and swear that we will both get through this and we are going to try and have a happy day regardless of what happens, we read scriptures and sing songs as a family, we kneel and have family prayer and we are off. I walk Noah and Aidan to school. I continue to smile and say hello to new faces in hopes that I too can make some new friends. I drop Noah off at kinder where most of the new kids and some parents are crying- luckily I am passed this stage and Noah feels confident and secure -we hug, give a kiss, and he wants no help what so ever getting settled in the class- finding a seat, putting lunch box in the proper place, turning in papers etc he does it all himself as I leave the door. What a relief! I take Aidan to line up with his class on the playground, I am amazed that there are 31 kids in his class. He is nervous but I smile, reassure him and introduce him to another girl who is also brand new to the school- his confidence rises and he tells his life history to this girl. Talk to the teacher about finding him a buddy , explain to the teacher that she also has another new student. Kiss Aidan all over his face- he is not embarrassed at all - he is holding on so tight and doesn't want to let go - I tell him to have an awesome day and what an amazing kid he is and walk away. I peek into kinder classroom and see that Noah is happy. A parent from the Jr. high sees me and asks how it is all going - I form a game plan with her to help Jordan find friends. I feel like throwing up. I can't stand to see my confident and out going kid sad - we must do something! I walk home. Jordan and Brandon are playing silly games trying to get each other to laugh and start the day on a positive note. Brandon takes Jordan to school. He tries to be tough. I write and check emails- wrote to the principal, counselor and 2 teachers asking for their assistance with Jordan and reminding them that he is brand new to the school and doesn't even know which building is which- thank goodness they gave him a map. I still feel like throwing up. I decide I can't just sit here and worry. I take AJ on a 45 min. walk trying to work through my emotions and talk with God. Brandon catches up with us. We talk about if moving here was a good idea - it would of been so much easier to stay in Utah. We walk in the door I need to feel good so now personal scripture study, I ask Brandon for a blessing. I feel at peace all worry and anxiety leave me and I decide to smile again and be a good mom and wife and move on with my day- I un load the dishwasher, start a new load, bake oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, go over my lesson plan for scouts tomorrow and look at the clock its ONLY 11am!!! Its going to be a LONG day! So back to cleaning I go, then lunch mingles with helping Brandon with work, pick up the younger ones from school, go over their day- homework, concerns, events of the day etc. Then snack time and time to pick up Jordan - go over his events of the day and deal with any emotions or concerns that may arise, snack for him, homework, dinner then off to guitar lessons and piano, with grocery shopping, errands, library and then the bedtime routine. Wow! I think I could of used one more week of summer! I realize this is ALL for our good and we need to progress so here we go from Son up to Son down. I pray this will be a good year!