Bloomington

Heading to Bloomington today. Mike moves in tomorrow. It will be tough and I have Kleenex in the van, but I also have several women who have been there before me lifting me up in prayer. They all know that while raising our kids to be independent adults is what our job has been all along, this rite of passage is a tough one to go through. He will be four hours away instead of right upstairs. He will be on his own, instead of here with us to back him up. I know without a doubt he is going to be successful there, and that he will love it. I knew that last October when we visited for a football game. Watched him fall in love with the campus, and all that is Indiana University. He may have some reservations, leaving friends and family, but he knows he will love it there, and I do too. Makes it a little easier to take him, but the Kleenex will be close by.

First day

First day of school is tomorrow. Will be nice to get paychecks again, but I miss what little free time I did have this summer. Tomorrow will have some tears, never fails that we get some from the kindergartners, and after looking at class lists, there may be tears from some teachers. The growth that these little guys go through from August to May is amazing. They really change so much, at least most of them do. They go from these scared little kids, to kids that are confident in what they are doing, can serve them selves in the lunch line and most of them can open their own milk.
This is also the start of the last year I will have one of my kids in my building. Will be a little different next year, but there are a lot of kids in my building that I look on as my own. I know they aren't having the best time of it at their own home. My thoughts and prayers go with them often, wondering what they would be like in a different home. One with parents that care.
It is in those moments, when I hear stories of what some kids have to deal with at home, that I realize how lucky I was, and how lucky my kids are to have what we have. My family isn't perfect, but it is one I can always count on in times of trouble, and I can always count on them being there.

To go or not to go

We leave for state fair tomorrow. Part of me would rather stay home. This summer has sped by at a blistering pace. I blinked and it was gone. I go back to work the day after we get home, not long after that we take Mike to IU. He is staying home from state fair to try to get a little more time with his HS friends before everyone leaves. I don't blame him, but I'll miss him while we are at state fair. First time ever that we will go down to state fair incomplete. I'll ask for a table for 6 for the first time when we go out to eat.
I know we will have a good time, and Mike will here. Jayme and Sara both want to show spots at state fair, Sara for a plaque, and Jayme for a jacket when they complete the required time. The kids will swim in the hotel pool and make new friends from around the state, and reconnect with old ones. Staying home has it's positives, but going does as well. So we will go, and life will speed along faster and faster. Sometimes I'd just like a time out.