First Day of School for the Older Two

I wrote last week about William's first day of school, but my older boys started the week before him. I want to post about their first day. Gregory started fifth grade and George started third. That morning went really well. It was a happy morning and the boys were ready to start school again. We had a great summer, and the boys were at the point when they had been board long enough and ready for the next thing. This helped me let them go without too much emotion. However, after the boys got out of the car and after we had taken our photos and I said goodbye, driving out of the parking lot I just couldn't help myself. And because I had been trying to suppress my emotions so that the morning would be calm for the boys, I cried good and hard. I cried all the way to work. I wasn't sad. My boys are in good hands. I want them to like school. I want them to progress. I want them to learn and become better and to keep moving forward. They both have great teachers and classmates, they are well loved and do well academically. The only reason for my tears is that the first day of school marks the advancement of another year. I don't know why this is when I cry because I don't cry on their birthdays. We celebrate them then and have so much fun, usually with several parties and gifts. But for whatever reason, maybe because it's all of them all at once but when they start school and when they each advance to the next grade it's sad because it means they are one year older and one more year towards when they grow up and leave. I love my boys. I absolutely am obsessed with them and their success. I spend most my afternoons and evenings helping them with their homework, driving them around to practices and games, and making sure that they are taken care of. The whole reason why I work during the day outside the home is so I can help pay for their extra activities so that when they are all grown up I have no regrets. So far, I don't have too many regrets. I feel like I give everything to my children and the relationship and bond that we each have is worth all the hard work. They each are doing so well. They have adjusted well to this last move. They love living in Elk Ridge. They have made friends, found sport teams that they do well on, and have friends at school and in our neighborhood. Stan and I would love to someday move one last time and find or build a home with land. We would love 5-10 acres of land, have a garden, four-wheelers, a small orchard, bees, a river or lake to fish from. That's our dream. But for now, we are happy.