Last Day of Summer Break

Yesterday was the last day of summer break for the boys. We decided to end the summer with a day trip to the lake. (And a quick stop at the big slide on the way home.)

They swam. Built sandcastles together. Bickered. Threw sand at each other. Laughed. Cried. A typical day.

It was a good day to spend together. Followed by a very busy night of meeting the last teacher, soccer practice for two, and a town meeting for me. And dinner for me at 9:30 p.m.

This morning Taylor left for his first official day of 7th grade. I like the photo, despite the shirt. Of all the new school clothes this boy has, he chose this old one.

And Carter (5th grade), Mason (2nd), and Jackson (3rd). Check out Carter's new orange Chucks. He was dying to wear them today.

I offered to make the boys scrambled eggs for breakfast (as was my traditional, first-day-of-school breakfast all through high school, which was the only time I ate breakfast all year long), but none of them wanted eggs today.

As the bus pulled away, I realized that I didn't hug or kiss or say a prayer with the three younger boys. Taylor left earlier and he got the package deal, but these three poor boys were neglected in the rush. And, sitting here now, I realized I'm not sure if Taylor ever knew which classroom he was supposed to go to this morning. I know I told him a week or so ago, but I forgot to remind him. Dang! And I thought I was on the ball today, too!

As the new school year approaches, there is one very important thing I must do. Set the "trips to the school nurse" back to zero. We had quite a year last year. Mason came in first place with 21 22* visits. Carter was our second place winner with 15. Taylor came in third with 5. And Jackson had only 2. Last year, as you may or may not recall, Taylor visited the school nurse on the first day of school. Let's see if we can break that record and save the first visit to the second day of school ...

*edited to add: I just now found Mason's old backpack from last year. Apparently Mason visited the nurse on the last day of school (only a half day of school). Geesh. He's up to 22 visits for last school year.