The Real Deal

Were you anticipating a post as exciting as last year's first day?

Back to school craziness has (kind of) settled in and we're finally catching our breath and falling into a rhythm.

It's a blessing and a curse living this close to the school.  I can see Kael at recess and I love that he waves at me every single time I see him.  Evidently in second grade it's still cool to wave at your mom, and honestly, for Kael, I don't think he'll ever get "too cool" to wave at me.  The Real Deal, however, is that it's tough watching him play.  He always reports that he has fun at recess but I can see he hardly ever plays with anyone.  I know that for Kael, it is enough just to find someone he knows, wave at them, or just say hi then spend the rest of recess playing alone.  Because if it were me, I'd be lonely.  I'd be looking for someone to hang out with and Kael might not be.  I have to realize that sometimes, he's happy when he's alone.  I watch some of the other kids play at recess I notice a bunch of boys his age kicking balls in the field- something Kael LOVED to do at his old school, so I mentioned it to him one night.  "I bet you'd have fun playing ball with the boys in the field," I said. His Real Deal response? "Sometimes I'm kind of shy, Mom.  I just like to play on the playground and monkey bars." 

We are blessed with an incredible support system built into this new school.  Even though Kael's not on an IEP and has no extra assistance or modifications at all throughout the day, he has so many people who are looking out for him.  Two of the neighbors have girls in second grade who, bless their hearts, always seem to be kind to Kael.  They chase him occasionally at recess and always wave at him.  They even find time to glance at our deck to wave at me. There are a couple teachers we are friends with who I know are *secretly* keeping their eyes out for Kael. The Real Deal is that in life, Kael won't always have an associate to help him out, so I have to be ok with the idea that he's just going it alone this year.

Kael came out of school yesterday and I could tell by the way he was walking that it hadn't been a great day.  Kind of a slow walk, shoulder slumped.  "Hi buddy!" I offered, enthusiastically.  "Mom, a very bad thing happened to me today. I dropped my tray at lunch." The Real Deal is that bad things happen whether you're in a new school or not.  He handled it like a trooper, from what I can gather.  And after school we had a friend over who told Kael reassuringly, "Someone drops their tray almost every single day at lunch at my school!" I could have hugged the kid to death, for saying something to brighten Kael up.  The Real Deal is that when bad things do happen, you surround yourself with people who are going to make you feel better.

Kael came out of school the other day and gave me kind of an embarrassed wave.  I noticed he was walking next to a girl I didn't recognize.  He gives me a cool shrug of the shoulder and says, "This is Eva.  She's in my class.  We're walking home together."  He proceeded to walk right on by me.  I loved it. He just looked so confident and happy. The Real Deal is that I can worry myself crazy about him but I can't change the fact that some days are going to be Drop Your Tray At Lunch days, and other days are going to be Make a New Friend and Walk Home With Her days.

We went to Kylee's open house and she just seemed so, well, old.  Mature.  Smart.  Together.  Gosh I hope she's not bored this year. Kylee's teachers told her at the open house that she will get to be the first Star Student of the year.  "We thought you could show the other kids how it's done- you'll be such a great example!" The Real Deal is that people have awfully high expectations for Kylee.  They set the bar high and she always seems to reach it. She starts school on Monday and I can't wait to see what this year has in store for my best gal.

What are you dealing with this weekend?