Reliving it through my kids
My kids are back in school. My son started Middle school; my daughter is now a high school junior.
Last Thursday it was orientation for my son. It was pretty busy at his new school. Throughout the entire summer he kept asking me if he had grown an inch or more yet. I kept replying nope, or I would tell him maybe he did because he looks a little taller to me. He loved that because it made him feel good. I can’t lie to him now. Then he would make the following comment and question to no one in particular “I’m going to be a pre-teen. Is my voice breaking yet”? Most times I’m the one within ear shot so of course I have to respond.
My poor baby. He’s going to be 11 years old in two weeks. He is growing and I do see some changes in him but he’s still not as tall as his other friends and can be mistaken for an 8 or 9 year old. He really hates that.
So I took the afternoon off for his orientation so that we wouldn’t feel rushed and we could meet his teachers and he could see his classrooms. At Middle School he goes to different classrooms now instead of him staying in one classroom and being taught by almost the same teacher.
So far his new teachers seem very nice and helpful. He received his planner and a few tips from each of them and I got a lot of paperwork to fill out. I tried to complete them while at the school but what was I thinking? I gave up and brought them home with me instead!
He saw his school gym, much larger than the old school, the cafeteria, much larger than the other one too. We purchase his gym clothes which looked pretty large but the quality of the material was pretty good I thought. I can’t imagine what he’ll look like in them (he’s skinny you see) but hope for the best. My husband liked the look and feel of the shorts so much he purchased one for himself; being a ping pong player he thought they would be good for him too! (When we got home and he tried them on they were slightly big and he’s not a small guy!)
I was glad we got to do that and calm some of the anxiety my son was feeling though. I told him to just take one day at a time and pay attention in his classes. He promises me he will.
That Saturday was my daughter’s turn. My daughter is now 16. She tried not to let her anxiety showed about returning to school but it was hard not to. For her it was a little different because some of her friends were not returning due to the re-zoning that has gone on in our county.
Being in her high school again certainly brought back a lot of memories of my own time in high school! The pressure kids put on themselves. They worry about being popular, being seen as cool, having friends to hang out with, not being looked at as a dork! Who wears what! Well I could go on and on.
Nothing much as changed where that is concerned really. As we waited in the Media Center for her schedule I noticed the kids all around me.
The ones who were dressed fashionably and seem to be the popular ones. The ones dressed all in black, from head to toe. Wow – I forgot what she called them…Goth? Yes, I think that’s it. In my days they were called punks. You know, like punk rockers. Except they also wore silver with the black, the fashion in my days, LOL!
Then there were the ones who looked all geeky, unsure of themselves and why they’re sitting there with their parents. Looking down constantly and looking scared. It’s so hard being a teenager and being unsure of you. I’ve been there at that age at one point or another. I’ve been there many times as an adult too, LOL! Even though I’m not the geeky looking type, there are times I’ve felt the way they do. In high school it’s even harder to be that way.
Oh and let me not forget the ones who simply weren’t sure what they should wear and ended up wearing too much, or too little! And I wonder where mom is during all this? Oy, what a calamity.
To say my daughter was pretty anxious about school was an understatement. When she got home it was in the closet she went to take out her clothes and start putting outfits together. It was a barrage of what looked good and what didn’t’ work with that pair of jeans or that skirt!
She had her whole week planned….around her outfits. Truthfully though I’m glad she did that because she takes forever when she’s getting dressed!
Then she and her friends were on the phone a lot for the rest of the weekend with what they were going to wear on the first day back to school. Apparently what you wore and how you looked on the first day will set the tone for how you will be for the whole school year and will gain you or lose you friendships! My goodness, how fickle! My husband was kind of fed up with it but I told him to just try and understand, that’s just how it is now. So I asked my daughter why on the first day of school, the other days don’t matter? “Oh no, the kids won’t care what you look like after that. They’ll know you’re a cool dresser upon how you look on the first day”. I’m so glad I’m not in high school anymore!
As for my son, I couldn’t get him a hair cut for going back to school. Oh no, he didn’t want to look weird. After the first two weeks, nobody will care. Then at that time, I can get him a hair cut!
Well I never…..kids!