school days

We've arrived, I cannot believe it but it is here, the first day of school. Addie's was yesterday and Traeton's is tomorrow.

I was excited for Addison to begin because she is still in the safe bubble of Mom's school. There are three new little girls who've joined her class this year, her best buddy from the cul-de-sac, Taryn, being one of them. She is thrilled to back in school and I am thrilled for her.

Traeton, however, is a different story. Tomorrow he'll begin first grade. At our school that means he will be in five full days now. Last year in kinde he was in only half days. This is going to be quite the adjustment, surely more for me than for him. I cannot imagine him being away from home under the instruction of others for a greater amount of time per day than he is with us. As of tomorrow my 'cannot imagine' will have to dissipate into reality. I've heard this can be a painful transition. I've heard the empty feeling strikes without warning and an overwhelming feeling of 'something missing' engulfs you. We'll see... I don't even get to pack him a lunch on the first day as the teacher really wants him to buy his lunch since she'll be with them all day walking them through the process.

For those of you who are curious, Todd and his team completed the Wild West Relay beautifully. The twelve men completed all their assigned legs without injury. Their final time was something like 29 hours with a per mile average of 9:30:00 or so. Thanks for all your prayers, I truly believe he was protected as a result. While Todd was very, very sore and limping painfully for a day or two he reflects that the whole experience was mostly enjoyable.

I will post a picture or two.
ERB