For the past 4 years the end of August always means the same thing...saying goodbye to Ottawa, packing the Buick up to capacity with all our new purchases and making the 15 hour drive across three provinces to arrive in Kingston in time for my re-integration into the working world. (with my Mom along for the ride...did I mention how much I love her?!?) This year, Hurricane Bill had different plans for us so we ended up making the drive a three day affair, stopping in Fredericton and Moncton before making it home.
I dread, no DREAD leaving Ottawa. I cry and am miserable leading up to my final days there and usually my first day back in Kingston too but once I get into my Nova Scotia groove again all is well in my world.
My classroom set-up went great. My Mom was there to help (again...God I love her!!) and I'm really excited to be teaching a new grade this year. Michael and Abbey are starting kindergarten (it's called Primary here) and taking the bus for the first time. Lots of new stuff to look forward to right!?!
I started class on Wednesday, Sept. 2nd and Michael and Abbey weren't scheduled to start until the following day which was great since I could focus 100% of my energy at school on the first day and not be worrying about my little munchkins.
Thursday arrived...WAY early! Abbey and Michael's bus comes at 7:45am and with Steve flying up North for the next two weeks, I wanted to heave plenty of time to get ready and make it as stress-free as possible for everyone.
My friend Janice met us at the bus stop and then followed the bus to their school to make sure they got to class okay (that's the hard part in being a teacher...you can never be a part of your child's first day of school and maybe hiring someone to do so was a bit over the top but it was so worth it for my sanity!!)
Here are my little darlings getting on the bus on their first day.
Here they are settled in the front seat!
Now about two second after the bus was out of sight was when I lost it! Oye! I cried and cried and cried some more. Now most of you know that I work less than a one minute drive from my house...not a whole lot of recovery time for my blotchy red eyes. I wore my big sunglasses inside as long as I could... but by 10ish, the puffiness had gone down, Janice had come to give me my camera and show me the pictures she took and give me the run-down of bus arrival and I was back to normal.
Here's Abbey and Michael getting off the bus at their school (pic taken by Janice)
SO...we survived day 1! Stay tuned for day 2!!!!
6 comments:
It looks like Abbey is a pack-mule coming off the bus - how many bags does she have?
It is so hard to be a teacher and not be able to enjoy these special school moments - thank goodness for super friends like Janice!
Debbie
What Chantal didn't say was when she came into school with her big hollywood sunglasses on, it covered those eyes, but only for a moment. Being the polite young lady (thanks to her awesome parents), she did the right thing, when introduced to the sub that was teaching next door to her class, she removed those dark shades and revealed those bruzer eyes! Our new sub was quite understanding as she had just put her 5 year old on the bus the day before for primary. Seeing those big red eyes, brought tears to my eyes but made me giggle with love too!!!
You did it, you did it, you did it!!! With everything on the go, Steve being away, your first day back and Michael and Abbey's first day...tears are a must! I am very proud of you Mama!!
Smooch.
I loved the pictures of the first day bus ride. I know it's hard to see your most precious possessions strike out in the world without you. I am sure through their eyes that they see it quite differently, though. I know that their Dad and Uncle were far more excited about the bus ride than the actual starting school part of it all. Thanks for sharing the photos and thanks to Janice too for her photography but above all for watching over our grandchildren.
What a sweet blog!! I miss you so much!! My heart goes out to you because I know exactly how you feel! Thanks for sharing!!
BTW That was Caroline Ghaffari's message - sorry - forgot to sign it!!
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