They're Baaack!

The kids are back in school! Yay!!! I love my children dearly, but after spending ninety-something days in a row trying to entertain them I start to get a twitch in my eye, which clearly indicates my sanity and patience levels are dangerously low. So even though it felt like I had just closed my eyes when the alarm screeched us awake the first day back,not to mentiong it was pouring and we had to park out in a mud bog and hop-scotch muck puddles to get the kids to their classrooms, I was so happy to get them back at school no amount of rain could dampen my spirit.
Of course I still have Nat at home, but come next week she will be attending Pre-K for three hours a day and then world look out, because Mama hasn't had a free week-day morning in four years!!!  I cannot wait!!
 Mason was very nervous about the first day and understandably, as this is a brand new school for her, with no familiar faces in sight. I felt for her, because I had to start a new school in 8th grade and if I close me eyes and picture myself walking down those lonely hallways, my stomach still tenses up at the thought. But the thing about Mason is that although she tends to be shy at first, it doesn't take her long to warm up and each year I see her taking less time and less prompting to talk to new people. I have been working on this with her since she was a toddler, because if there one wish I have for her it is that she does not let fear hold her hostage,as it did me for so long. And Mace has an advantage over the other kids in her class because her teacher happens to be a friend and former co-worker of my mom's. And for the first day my mom, or "Gigo" as my girls call her, was at their school, helping kids find their way to their classrooms at the beginning of the day and to their parents car in the afternoon. For those of you who don't know, my mom works for the school system in the Title One division, which is why she was able to do this. My point is, Mason was nervous, which I took very seriously, but I made sure to point out how lucky she was that her grandmother was at the school and that was something most kids don't get to experience and that for all the knots in her stomach and fluttering of her heart, she was going to be just fine. And she was. Her teacher is awesome, her classroom is on the second floor, a stuffed Patrick from Spongebob sits in the reading corner and she saw a baby raccoon on the court at P.E. When you're nine, being impressed is easily achieved.
Now Cams, as usual, was another story. I tried as much as possible to prepare her for the first day. She has had so much change this summer that I can only imagine what she must be thinking. We moved to a new house, she went to camp over the summer with strange teachers and different "friends" and now I'm in her face talking about going to school tomorrow and seeing her teacher, to which she replied "Ms. Mills" (her teacher from the last two years) "No, not Ms. Mills. Ms. Lopez" I told her. To which she replied "See Ms Kimmy", her teacher from camp. "No,not Ms Kimmy, Ms Lopez. She's your new teacher at your new school." To which Cams replied "Mr.Bill, he wears a funny hat." Mr. Bill was her bus driver for the past several years and every Friday he would wear some crazy hat from his collection. We miss Mr. Bill. :(  "No, not Mr. Bill. Ms Lopez, she's your new teacher. And Mrs.Tee, she's in your class too." I was trying, but it's just such a mystery what she's comprehending. "Are you excited about going to your new school?" I asked as I tucked her in. "Ry-ry. She eats wet food. She likes licky face." And that was Cams thoughts about her upcoming first day of school. So when  Brad was putting her uniform on and I was fighting to braid her hair, the talk was of Riley and her "meat food". Well, at least she wasn't nervous. We dropped her off at her classroom first but because of the rain we were late and the class had already gone to P.E. so we took her by the hand and tried to find someone to point us in the right direction. Halfway down the hall we spotted Ms. Lopez. She walked up to Cams with her arms open wide. "There you are, I've been waiting for you Camryn" to which Cams gave her a snap and said "Ry-ry". And then Ms. Lopez took her by the hand, Brad and I gave her a hug and kiss, and our wishes for her to have a great first day and off they went, Cams and Ms Lopez. That was it! No crying, no hesitation, no "Who the heck is this lady holding my hand and walking me away from my parents?" Nope, Cams just went with it, as she normally does in these situations, which is both a blessing and a worry. I'm so thankful that she does not fear new people when it comes to times like these, as it is hard enough to send her somewhere new without really knowing what she understands about it and what she doesn't. I feel so guilty when I take her into a new school or camp and then have to leave her because I have no idea if she knows I'm coming back or if she's thinking "My mom finally gave me away. Guess I shouldn't have pulled Mason's hair this morning!" So the fact the she goes willingly spares me the heartbreak of leaving her screaming and crying. BUT, in other situations, like anywhere out in public, this carefree attitude towards strangers is really not such a good thing. The creepiest man in town with stringy hair, crooked,yellow teeth and soul-less eyes could walk up to Cams, offer her a lollipop and she'd take him by the hand talking about Ry-ry and Oobi and that scares the hell out of me! Which is something I hope she grows out of like tomorrow!
When I picked the kids up that afternoon, I spotted them sitting by the car circle, Mason cross-legged next to Cams with her hand up like Oobi, obviously trying to keep her sister amused. This year we decided to not put Cams on the bus, so her waiting in the car circle is a new thing and I was not feeling very confident that she would do well. Sitting Camryn in middle of a group of children can be a real gamble. Arms of every size and color, protected only by their shirts short sleeve, within reach of Camryns scratch happy fingers. And that's not all. Hair, hair everywhere, in ponytails, braids or worse ye,t free flowing, perfect for yanking and  pulling. Lanky legs and pudgy calves, criss- crossed applesauce in every direction. Oh the pinching that could be done! I imagined pulling into the car circle only to see kids running towards me, screaming in utter horror, a look of fear on their little faces, and Cams pounding the pavement behind them saying "I wanna give them a hug! Make good choices people" ( A phrase she took from her Pre-K teacher).
But no, to my welcome surprise, there were my daughters sitting with the rest of the school, just like any other pair of sisters waiting for their mom. My heart melted. It was a sight I thought I'd never see. Cams was doing it. She was doing it!! For all practical purposes she looked just like any of the other kids out there. So much so that the P.E. coach, a young guy about 30 or so, came over to her and asked her name, to which Cams replied "Ry-ry". Mason quickly corrected her,telling the coach her name was Camryn. Apparently, he didn't clue in that Cams was not your typical car rider and went on to ask her if she knew which car was hers in the line, to which she again replied "Ry-ry". Love it!!! I guess he was starting to get the picture, because he turned to Mason and asked " Do you know her?" And Mason answered, "I would say so, she's my sister!" Those girls crack me up!! I was watching all this go down from my spot waaaaaaaaayyyyy back in the line and I was wondering what in the world this man was talking to Camryn about. I was actually laughing out loud in the car when I saw Cams give him her "I don't care what the question is my answer is Ry-ry" look. As I got further up in the line, Cams saw me and broke away from the holding area. It was then very obvious that Sawgrass Elementary doesn't know Cams yet, because the adults were telling her to wait for Mommy, stop running, blah, blah,blah. Cams barreled through the crowd, her Ne Hao Kai-Lan backpack swishing back and forth hitting whoever was in her path. Thank God the speed limit is 0 in the car line because she ran right out to my car and opened the door, coach five steps behind her. Mason had tried to hold her hand, but fifty one pounds of skin and bones can't really restrain sixty five pounds of pure determination. Cams piled in the backseat, Mason was trying to climb over her, which agitated Camryn so she scratched Mason, who started screaming which agitated Cam more so she scratched Mace again, which made Mason scream louder and hit Camryn, all the while the coach is trying to shut the door and get me out of there so the line can keep moving. But Camryns backpack is in the way of her seatbelt and I can't reach it, Mason won't get anywhere near Camryn at this point and who could blame her and the coach seems oblivious that he needs to buckle Camryn. I can see the teachers with their walkie talkies, no doubt muttering that some crazy woman and her crazy kids in a land yacht SUV are holding up the line. I finally just say "Thank you, she's fine" so I can get out of there and pull over in the parking lot to buckle Cams.
That night at the dinner table, Mace is going on and on and on about her first day. How cool her teacher is, how gross the boys are, what they will be working on this year, who her best friend is,etc. After about twenty minutes I say "Okay Mace,let's ask Cams about her day. Cams, how was your day at school?" "Ry-ry" she says. "No Cams, not Ry-ry. What did you do at school today?" "Ry-ry" she answers again. "Cams, what's your teachers name?" "Ry-ry" she says. "Cams,your teacher isn't Ry-ry, it's Ms Lopez. What did you put on your tray in the cafeteria?" To which she anwered...can you guess? "Ry-ry" Now I knew she knew her teachers name wasn't Ry-ry, she didn't learn about Ry-ry at school and she didn-t put Ry-ry on her tray in the cafeteria, although it very well could have been dog because you never know with school lunch, but the thing with Cams is she will tell you when she's ready and chances are when you ask, she won't be ready. This is something I know about my Cams. As I was tucking her in bed, I heard her whisper "Ryland did a good job and Trinity did a good job" I recognized those names from the giant  laminated apple on her classroom door. Those were her classmates! "Yes Cams! Ryland did a good job and Trinity did a good job! Did Camryn do a good job?" She just giggled but I knew she knew I understood. She was telling me about her day the best she knew how. She didn't tell me what they sang in circle time or what she ate for lunch, but that's what notes home and monthly menus are for. That's how we communicate and although I wish it were more, it's so much more than I ever thought I'd get. She went to sleep and I got out her folder to sign her daily note. I added a comment on the bottom... "Sounds like Cams had a good day! I can't wait to hear about tomorrow!"