School...

Well, with the month of September came the boys first day of Mother's-Day-Out. If I was gonna be honest and I am, then I'll go ahead and admit that I was kinda sad to see school start up again. I loved the lazy, summer days we had...not to say they were always smooth and pleasant and unchaotic (because we all know that with two small children there are always tears and drama and chaos), but I loved the time I got to spend with my boys. I loved that we had no agenda, nowhere we had to be...that we could sit in pj's until 10am or have breakfast picnics outside without the rush to go and get dressed so we could get out the door. I loved that we could stay at the park swinging for as long as we wanted or that we could drop everything at a moment's notice and go hang out with friends. I loved that we could attend storyhour at the library each week. Most of all I loved that we could play the days away and not think twice about it. I knew that Braden needed and wanted to go to school, but I just had such a hard time letting go of Asher. He seems like such a baby to me still and I just wasn't ready to face the fact that he was growing up and that I won't have any one-on-one time with him anymore.

However, along came September which brought back school and Bible Study and soccer and all the other things to add to an agenda and fill up our days. However the first day of school came and went and I must say that although there were definitely tears on mine and Asher's part, all in all it was a great day. When I went to pick up Braden, his first words to me were "I had fun Momma" and Asher greeted me with a huge smile and hug. I think I just view this time as fleeting...my time at home with my boys when they are small is so short...such a short season in my life and I want to soak it all up...every minute of it. Plus I just realize that this "going off to school" thing is just the beginning of letting go. I mean it's two days this year, but next year it will be three days for Braden and then it's off to kindergarten and before long my boys will be grown and this time of sweet, innocent, "playing-the-days-away" thing will be gone and my spare time will be consumed with homework and sports practice. Just not ready for them to grow up...not just yet. They only go two days a week and I must admit that having two days to myself to get stuff done and have some me time is a wonderful blessing. I feel that I can really "be" with my boys since I've had some time to get stuff done around the house or run pointless errands that the boys don't really want to be drug around doing. So all in all, it's a great thing...the boys seem to LOVE being at school with their friends and I'm enjoying the opportunity to work out again or go and have lunch with a friend and actually finish my lunch in my own timing or finish a conversation without being interrupted by a little person needing something. Anyway...here are some pictures of my boys first day -
Sweet little boy -
Braden, looking so big. Of course he's gotta shove a matchbox car in this pocket to go to school with him. One can almost always find a matchbox car in Braden's pocket at any given moment of any given day -
Of course Asher picked out the exact same backpack as Braden's...but his looks so big on him!