Kindergarten Round-Up

I've been remiss in blogging lately. So remiss that I forgot my username. That's pretty remiss. Lots of things going on in our lives lately. The end of the school year is always a busy time. The big event of the last week was registering George for kindergarten. He's the last of the four to attend kindergarten round-up. People ask me if I'm sad. Am I a bad mother to say no? How can I be sad when he's SO excited about starting this phase of his life? Wouldn't being sad in that case make me a bit selfish?

Well, back to kindergarten round-up. George is four right now. He won't turn five until May 22. I have talked to WAY too many parents lately who are "red shirting" their preschoolers until next year so their kids can have an "advantage" or so that their kids can "be a child for a little bit longer." When did sending a child to kindergarten result in the end of childhood? And why is my kid going to be a full year younger than many in his class because other parents want an "advantage" for their child. Somehow, this doesn't seem quite right. Mary Claire (who is in first grade) won't turn 7 until July 17. Does that put her at a "disadvantage?" When did we start holding kids back from school until they were almost old enough to drive themselves there?!

Spring Break

We returned from our spring break trek to the North Carolina side of the Smoky Mountains on Friday. What a great time we had! Vacationing with our best friends, hiking in the Smokies, river rafting, horseback riding, marshmallow roasting, train riding, ice cream eating, drinking and talking into the wee hours of the morning... it was a fabulous vacation from beginning to end. So, I nearly had a nervous breakdown driving to the top of the Smokies, and Stacy and Jody nearly lost their cool when wasps invaded their rooms... it was still a great time. Jody sold her house the first day it went on the market. Luckily, Century 21 in Bryson City was able to handle the paperwork for them. We got sentimental, a little weepy, engaged in dirty talk, had many laughs. It was a vacation to remember.

When we returned home, we discovered that our very-nervous-in-our-absence Maggie had pooped all over Sam's bedroom and the basement. There was a large conglomeration of ants in the laundry room, and a cockroach in my purse. EEEWW. After steam cleaning, ant spraying, and thorough checking of every article of clothing and food product that came home with us, we're finally getting unpacked and settled back into the routine.

All the kids except George go back to school this morning. George will go to work with me for a week--that's always a productive and stressless venture. (Please read the sarcasm into the former sentence.) Jody is packing her PODS and getting ready to move into an apartment until school's out. Stacy is planning a couple of work trips; I'm going to San Francisco for a conference. Life marches on.

Barbra said it best: "Memories light the corners of my mind. Misty, water-color memories of the way we were." Sappy, yes. But true.