Back to School

So, a few of you have asked about school and how the kids are doing. Okay, okay, I get the point. Let me start by saying, I feel good about Russell and Rachel this year.

We'll start with Rachel… I enrolled her at a private Lutheran school, I blogged about it before. I am thrilled that I enrolled her there. She loves it and I think her teacher is good. She's firm, but nice. I really feel like at this point of Pre-K it is time to start getting a little more serious about classroom procedures and curriculum and Rachel's teacher is right there with my expectations. Some moms I have talked to have been a little put off with the routine and firmness, but I appreciate it. It's not like the teacher is a hard ass; I think she seriously takes her responsibility to have these kids ready for Kindergarten and quite frankly, that's what I am paying her to do, you know? Russ went to Pre-K at a public school in FL because he was an ESE student, but he got moved up to the ESE Kindergarten class b/c of numbers and in some ways got to do Kindergarten twice, which was huge for him. He was reading and doing a lot of things his Kindergarten peers weren't doing and he was in Pre-K. So, I feel really strongly about Rachel being in a good Pre-K program. Plus, she's getting all the fun extras. They are making a huge scrapbook of the year, (I sneaked a peek), lots of field trips, and going to have the full on graduation. She deserves that. I can't even complain about how much the tuition is, although I marvel at the fact that it costs more than our first or second car payment that Adam and I have ever shared!! At least it isn't more than the mortgage!!! Seriously, it is worth every penny and I have even made a couple of friends out of the deal.

Also, she has to wear a uniform, which isn't high on my list, but I can I say Rachel just ROCKS her lil' jumper and pleated skirts!! Ha! Russ had a strict dress code in FL and I do miss it. I try hard to find things for Russ that are cool and he'll wear. Poor kid has enough going against him, I won't have him dressing too cheap or dorky!! I know, that sounds horribly superficial, but at least I am honest to say it. I miss the strict dress code though.

I am really pleased with Russell's teacher this year, Mrs. Justice. I don't think I could have asked for better. I think I blogged about writing the principal to just place him in a good class and she did. Mrs. J taught 4^th grade last year, I wouldn't have even known to request her, so I feel lucky to have gotten him with such a great teacher. He thinks that Mrs. J is a little bit nicer than his 2^nd grade teacher, but "it's close". I find it easy to communicate with her and we are meeting next week to get a head start on Russ's IEP accommodations AND his SLP wants in on the meeting too, so I am thrilled about the proactive effort. Mrs. J has already sent home an extra reading textbook that we can keep all year to work on at home; as Russ does has some challenges with reading comprehension testing.

Russ has made a few new friends right off the bat. He doesn't seem to have any issues with anyone in class. I think he had a few 'mean girls' in 2^nd grade, so his 3^rd grade class seems better. He's more comfortable at school, which is good. He does still play at recess alone sometimes, but not always. His new friends like to play kickball and he doesn't, so he either watches or plays on the playground. I am keeping an eye out on that, but not too worried. He still loves the librarian, a buxom blonde that dresses a teensy bit inappropriately, but she is awesome. Russ told me he wished he could go to the library with Mrs. Yates every day. I do think it is b/c they both share a love of books, but the fact that she is easy on the eyes doesn't hurt either!!!!!!

I think I'll report on myself since I am on the PTSO Board this year. Wow, I am busy, but I don't mind. I have such a strong commitment to volunteering, especially since I have the luxury to stay home with my kids. I sometimes wonder about those moms who stay home, have all their kids in school and don't do anything. I do really feel the need to contribute to my community and am privileged to do so. I think I have contributed to the fundraising end of things in the PTSO where it was needed, silent auctions, where I have a lot of professional experience. I have met some great gals and new friends, so that is rewarding too. I have also had the great experience of getting to know the principal and office manager better. Both are extremely smart, driven women. I certainly have learned from them both already. The principal, Mrs. Douglass, is an amazing woman, hands down. I could blog about her alone. It is truly a privilege to know her.

Let's see, other than that…. Rachel is taking a couple of extras – "Cheer for Tots" and gymnastics – she loves both. Row and I are taking gymnastics while Rachel is in gym too. That is more work for me and my back, so not sure how long we'll do that. Russ is doing Scouts and soccer. Soccer surprised me, as last season's coach was such a douche. But, we have a new coach who is much closer to our philosophy of having fun and winning is secondary. Scouts will be interesting. Russ is interested and the social aspects are good for him. Russ is down to private speech once per week, which is a HUGE relief. That extra free night does my soul good. Once soccer is over, we'll revisit tennis.

So, all in all the back to school month has been good to us. I don't think that I mentioned that Adam is deploying at the end of October. He is going to Germany for 4 months. It was the deployment we both teased about… "Wouldn't it be cool if you get some weird deployment to Europe or in the States for less than 6 months…." And strangely enough we got it. Someone is looking out up there, thank you.

OH!! No back to school blog entry would be complete without NFL. I am playing fantasy ball this year. Just one team this year, which is unusual. But my team is in my league, I am THE Comish and we've been playing with most of these guys since 2004. I enjoy it and LOVE NFL ball. I am stating for the record, I probably won't win this year, but am hoping to make the playoffs. Wish me luck!

Big Martha Passes the Torch

I have so much I want to say about Don Garland, but putting it into words will really require an emotional session, that I just haven't wanted to face. I guess you could say I am not quite ready for that, but I know I will be in the future. I haven't even really found the 'oomph' to sit and write 'sympathy' cards for Linda, Dawn & TJ. I'd say I am more ready to write those and perhaps that will give me the energy to write my blog about Don.

Anyway, what I thought I'd write about is the passing of the "Martha Torch". Anyone who knows my mom, knows what a Martha fan she is. And you can't help but be drawn into it. There are many of us that call each other Martha when we do something especially fantastic in the homemaking, entertaining realm of our lives. It is a loving term, but it is also a bit of a joke too. My mom can make fun of Martha with the best of them, but she has this element of seriousness, detail orientation, and perfection, (much like Martha), that really makes my mom more Martha than anyone.

For Don's funeral reception, my mom and I were asked to be in charge. And of course, we were honored to do so. I was able to get to Napa on the Wednesday prior to the funeral, which was on a Friday. Before that my mom and I had been planning via email and phone, so I was ready to get business taken care of. From Wednesday until Friday night, it was nonstop. I guess this is the point where I should I say that Adam decided to stay in Las Vegas with the children. R&R had both started school that week, each with terrific starts, Adam had taken off work, but was working from home too. It was a hard decision to make. No, it was a gut wrenching decision to make. Adam and I both loved Don and wanted to honor his life and memory, but had to make the heart wrenching decision that it was ultimately better for our kids to stay home. In retrospect, I still think it was the best decision. I was able to really concentrate on the Garlands and the day and just be there for any little or need. If my kids were there, I wouldn't have been as capable.

Okay, so back to Martha… pretty much Wednesday and Thursday were all about prepping for Friday. Not only were we in charge of the reception, we were also hosting the 'after party' at my mom's house. We thought it would be nice to host family and friends that lingered or were from out of town at my mom's house for late lunch/early dinner and just relax after an emotional morning. I won't go into all the little details that happen prepping for such an event, but it was clear that Martha is getting older and not so good with her details. (I won't go into the details besides age on why I think Martha is losing her memory!!) Anyway, it came down to Thursday night, Martha wanted a family meeting. Andy arrived from Portland and she wanted to go over the plan for the next day. I am rattling off details when she finally looked at me and said, "Aimee, you are in charge". Big Martha passed the torch and I TOOK it!

It is kind of a poignant moment for me. Some of you know my mom and how she LOVES to be in charge, so for her to say it really meant a lot to me. I also know it was probably a little hard for her to say it too. Of course, in true Aimee fashion, I took and ran with it. All those years of my mom bossing me around - payback! Just kidding. Hmm… maybe not….

I have to say that Don's funeral, reception and 'after party' all went as smoothly as any of those things can go. I really felt like I was anticipating needs, taking care of little details that came up, tying loose ends, and anything else that would help family and friends be able to grieve and be comfortable.

What I learned is that it is hard work being Big Martha. Not only is the task itself exhausting, but you have to put your emotions on hold so everyone else doesn't have to. My mom had talked about that: when you are in charge of events like that, you don't get to grieve, celebrate, whatever the occasion is. (Now we know the REAL reason why she put me in charge…) While I believed her, it didn't really hit me until I was on the plane flying home on Saturday, the day after. It just took everything I had not to lose it on the plane and on the shuttle back to my car. It was such a relief to get in my car and bawl.

Gosh, I have sat here for 5+ minutes trying to write something else and just can't….. got to get back on 'mom' time – Russ will be home soon, have HW, think about dinner, sigh.

I do really miss him.