first-day-of-school, goodbye kiss
This morning I was encouraging the girls to move faster ("It's 7:27 and I still haven't heard any practicing," "Olivia, if I see you in just your bra one more time..." "Girls, do you know what time it is?"), when I noticed Savannah's to-do list, hanging on her bulletin board.
It read:
spelling test
P.E. (tena shoes)
water bottel
[an aside: it's clear that those last two things do not bode well for the first thing]
perseverance
[another aside: is it weird that she can spell "perseverance" but not "bottle"?]
Sigh.
Last night as I was pulling the Wimmer Truc out from under my broiler and slicing it into sandwiches for dinner, I suddenly started crying. I was suddenly so tired I couldn't do anything else but cry. In the minute between the broiler and the table, I hit the wall.
This is officially our thirteenth day back at school. Not that I'm counting. And while I am trying my very best (our family theme this year: Be Your Best) to be happy and "enjoy the journey" and all that, I have to admit that I'm already wiped out. I told David, who looked around the room utterly baffled (his mind whirring to figure out what tragedy happened between the oven and the table), "I've gone as far as I can go."
The trouble is, thirteen days is not very far.
Especially in comparison to the hundred and sixty-seven or so days still to go.
It's not just me either. Savannah herself has cried her way out the door the last two mornings. Which is, I imagine, why "perseverance" made it onto her list.
Which almost makes me feel more sorry for her than I am for myself. Almost.
[a final aside: is this the BEST whining you've ever heard? I thought so. Be your best...at everything.]
Last night in bed, I asked David, "Do you think I'm going to make it?"
"Sure." A smile.
"Are you aware of everything I'm up against?"
Another smile. He assured me that I have made him fully aware.
"Okay," I sighed, and he gave me a hug.
Perhaps that might have been a better tactic than the "change-your-attitude" speech I gave Savannah this morning.
Rats.
Oh, summer, how I miss you. It was so much easier to be my best at the beach.
You know?