November has been a crazy month. I think I blinked once and it was over. Or maybe it is just because we were so busy changing everything in our lives that I didn't have time to notice the clock ticking away...
When Molly returned from MEA break at school we found out her beloved teacher was resigning. She loved her school. She loved her teacher. She loved her friends. She loved all the learning she was doing. I only loved her friends and her teacher. Sending her to this school was one of the instances where I did what I thought what was best for my daughter, not what was best for me. With the loss of her teacher, I looked ahead at all the change she had coming and I panicked. The school was moving over winter break and there was a long line of substitutes and no plan in place (at least that they shared with us) for replacing her teacher. Realistically, I knew it would be fine. I knew the staff had a plan. But my mama bear came out and I wanted to keep my daughter from any undue duress. On November 2, I had her visit her brother's school. I thought there was no time like the present to make life easier on me. Fortunately for me, she loved it too. Something about a little more freedom that is exciting to kids. At this school she can talk in the hall and wear regular clothes and sit where she wants at lunch. Plus, there was a bus to take! And, her brothers were thrilled. In the end, it was an easy sell.
On November 12, Molly started all day kindergarten at Westwood. She is happy there, but not as happy as she was at Aspen. The kids are more diverse at Westwood (meaning there are several kids with special needs and Molly is by far the smartest kid in her class) and you can tell she only clicks with a couple of them, not all of them. School is not as challenging either. But, she still loves going each day. In the end, I think it really will be best for her (even if she is writing letters to her old class to tell them how much she misses them).
November 12 was a really big day in our house. Colin left for Wolf Ridge that morning. His entire 5th grade class spent five days and four nights at the environmental camp in Northern Minnesota. They left on a morning full of flurries and freezing temperatures with the plan to spend five days outside studying nature. On the plus side, he bunked in a room with two buddies and hung around his friends day and night for a week. He came home excited to share, exhausted from lack of sleep, and starving because there was not enough food. As we watch him go through his 5th grade year, we notice his need for independence rise. He doesn't share as much and doesn't need us around as much. The Wolf Ridge experience intensified his need for independence. The amount of time he wants to hang out with the family is going down and his desire to plan activities with his friends is going up. While we are thrilled to have him social and active, I miss my little boy.
Of course the biggest change is the house. All three kids mourn the loss of all their friends in both neighborhoods. With the cold weather, there has not been time to form relationships with the new kids yet. It has taken all of Todd's and my energy to get the boxes unpacked (they needed to be returned to the movers before Thanksgiving to get our deposit back) so there has been little time for fun in our new house. All the work has brought fatigue and short tempers to everyone, which results in even less fun. But, I think we are finally getting to the point were we can sit and enjoy the house and bring back some of the fun. There are pictures on the walls and rooms are starting to feel cozy. There is a place for everything and everything is in its place (sort of). Life is returning to the normal we experienced last April before our old house went on the market. And I think everyone is realizing the benefits of a little more space. Molly loves her closet. Zach loves that he can read when he wakes up really early. Colin loves that he has his own room. I love my kitchen. Todd loves his basement. And, Emmie loves the park behind her house. We even woke up to a deer in the backyard one morning which brought out her hunting instincts! Change is hard, but change can be good.
Really the theme of all of 2012 has been change. Some of it we have weathered with grace. Some of it has left us less than graceful. But, it has shown us that with the kids growing up so quickly, no two years will be the same (during the baby years, it really felt like life would always be that same way and it still catches me by surprise sometimes that it is not). We have a lot of change ahead and we need to be able to embrace it. We just hope this year of change has taught us how to love each other despite it all. And reflecting on our blessings around Thanksgiving, we also realized that loving each other despite it all might have been the most important lesson we learned in 2012 and our biggest blessing of all. For that we are most thankful.
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