Back to school

It's Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer. We're batting .500 on the enthusiasm scale among the kiddos. My daughter was ready to roll last week and cannot wait to start first grade. She's kinda like this right now:

My son. . .not so much. I can't say that I blame him. I'm sorry to see summer go, too. Even after all these years away from the classroom, I still get a little bummed out at the end of this weekend. One last day at the pool and then it's back to business.

That being said, I've compiled a short list of pros and cons regarding the first day of school. Here goes.

Pro: Kids get some time apart. This one is really, REALLY important. They had six weeks of camp together and another two weeks at a home child care in the neighborhood. They've really had enough of each other. Guys, go to your neutral corners, for Christ's sake.

Con: Prepping lunches five nights a week. A lot of people will tell me to let the kids buy lunch every day and this problem is solved, but come on. Number one, it's extra money. Number two, I've seen some of the stuff they're eating in the cafeteria. It's not bad, but let me tell you, it won't win any awards. We caved last year and let them buy lunch once or twice a week, but I won't do more than that. Can't do that to my kids. So it's time to suck it up and start brown bagging it once again. 

Pro: Making new friends. We've only been in this neighborhood for two years, and we're still getting to know everyone. There's also a heavy concentration of military families here, so we've already lost some friends (and consequently, so have the kids). New school year means new faces.

Con: Homework. Duh. Like this one needs an explanation.

Pro: Learning new things. This is different from homework, trust me. Homework is a chore, something that has to be done before soccer practice, etc. I'm talking about when the kids come home from school and tell us what they've learned. Granted, this exercise can be like extracting teeth from a honey badger, but when they really feel like talking and are completely psyched about a new subject, it's kinda fun to watch.

Con: Increased traffic and the constant reminder that so many people who live in our area think they're the only ones on the road and aren't averse to swerving around kids at crosswalks just so they can get to the damn office. I know, that was a long one. But it's true. It really pays to look both ways.

Thanks for listening. Talk to you soon.