It's Finally Time For School!!

The countdown paper chain is finally down to nothing. They have been counting the days all summer long using a paper chain with a link for each day of summer. Macy looks a little apprehensive here, but she was pretty excited! She looked darling with her new Gymboree dress with the Scotty dog on it and matching socks and bow in her head, all with Scotty dogs.

Julie had laid out a shirt for Marshall to wear, but he said, "No," that he had something else in mind and picked out this button-up shirt. He loves his new Sketcher shoes and couldn't wait for school to start, so he could wear them. I pick them up after school every Monday, and when they got in the car yesterday, I asked, "Well, how was your first day?" Marshall said, "AWESOME!" Macy said, "Kind of sad and kind of angry." I asked why and it was because the teacher took up her little pencil sharpener (which she wasn't supposed to be playing with), and because she didn't get to sit with Marshall at lunch! She told her mom later that night that she wanted to be "home-schooled" from now on! The second day was much better, and she announced she no longer wanted to be "home-schooled!" Yea!

Now, what in the world will I do with my Mondays? I've kept Macy and Marshall every Monday, since I retired in '04. Macy was just one and Marshall was an infant. Last year, when Macy started kindergarten, I just had Marshall which was different, but fun too. I felt extremely lonesome all day yesterday, thinking about all the things we used to do on Mondays. Here are just the ones I can remember: coloring, drawing, painting, Play-Doh, baby dolls, dress-up, jig-saw puzzles, Candy Land, building with blocks, taking walks with the baby doll stroller, looking for leaves and flowers, feeding the fish in the pond by my house, watching the squirrel in their backyard, cooking all kinds of things, Marshall driving the John Deere Gator with Macy in the passenger seat in their back yard, as he took her to "work," watching videos, going to McDonalds and Chick-Fil-A to play on the playgrounds, going to Dynamoze, playing kitchen and cooking pretend meals, building forts and setting up tents, playing with hotwheels and Thomas the Train, going to various parks, riding tricycles, scooters, and bicycles, and playing hide-and-seek, going to the library and book stores, making up dances, playing on their swings/fort in the backyard, blowing bubbles, playing all kinds of ball games, and reading lots and lots of books---some favorites were "Stuart Little," "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus," (and all the pigeon books), "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie," and all the others in that series like "Moose/Muffin," "Pig/Pancake." Wow! Five years sure goes by fast! In five more years, Macy will be starting middle school! And five years later, she'll be in high school, then college. Time just travels way too fast when you're having fun with grandchildren!