School starts

James and Andrew are on a new adventure this year. They started last week at a new school in a new school district.

Our school board voted in July to not give parents a choice of online or in-person like the other districts. It said we would only be remote learning. But the school district just a couple blocks south of us has an in-person option. 

So I fought to get them in. I called and went to and applied at many schools, finally getting them into one that I was told was "a hidden gem of a school."

I cried about this probably every night. But this week I have praise and gratitude for this opportunity for them to learn and grow. 

Andrew has already made a few friends. James gives us a report on the food every day on the drive home. They quickly caught on to the rules of distancing and hand-washing, but they are not allowed to touch the playground equipment, which I think is too extreme.

I also tried to get Ben into the other district's junior high (which is a closer drive than our district middle school btw), but I think they were inundated by parents like me. And, last spring he tested into the Honors/Extended Learning program, so in the end he's staying in our district. So is Max, who is a sophomore also in the honors/ELP program, and on the tennis team. A very hard thing to transfer.  

They both got their school-issued laptops this week and will log on at 8 AM next week and I'm already getting an inbox full of emails. PTSD from the spring is coming on strong. My eye twitches, my jaw clenches....what is this feeling? Burning like a flame...does it have a name?