Back-to-School: Days Gone By

Back-to-school is upon us. Not US specifically, the boys don’t actually start until August 25th, but tis the season to crack open those books and get back on a semi-normal sleep schedule.

I think I’m dreading the sleep schedule the most, if you want the truth.

For those that don’t know, Dude will be a junior this year and Jazz will be a freshman. I’m really looking forward to having both boys at the same school this year. And I’m REALLY looking forward to following Jazz around this Fall as he plays with the marching band.

I’m also hoping that all of his extra-curricular enthusiasm wears off on Dude and he actually gets involved in something this year.

I’m not holding my breath.

One nice thing about having high schoolers is that you don’t have to shop for back-to-school supplies. As long as the guys have a decent backpack (and that’s decent as in it’s strong enough to endure months of rough treatment and heavy books), a trapper to keep all of their subject folders, paper, pens, calculators, etc. in, then they’re good to go.

And we’re good to go on that stuff.

And since the guys are pretty much done with growth spurts (though Jazz had a pretty big one over the summer and I’m predicting he’s going to really shoot up there this year), the only thing I really needed to buy them were decent jeans and slightly bigger t-shirts.

Again, no biggie. But then again, I have teenage boys. I’m sure the whole wardrobe thing is an entirely different monster with teenage girls. I remember how CRUCIAL it was to have the latest and coolest thing back when I was in high school.

I can honestly say, I’m so thankful I didn’t have girls. (And not just because of the clothes issues, but for so many more reasons, as well. I should write about those reasons sometime).

When your kids reach the high school years, it’s all sort of anti-climatic. I watch young mothers frantically scouring the back-to-school aisles at the stores with envy. I honestly miss the days when the boys were actually looking forward to school. When they actually got excited about fresh pencils, crisp crayons, and funky notebooks.

Now, they could care less. In fact, it’ safe to say that they LOATHE school. Well, Dude loathes it, Jazz merely tolerates it and that’s only because he HAS to go to school in order to play in the band.

It’s a secondary priority.

But it wasn’t always this way. Kevin was going through old videos the other day and ran across this sweet gem. *SIGH* I can’t believe the boys were EVER this small. It seems like they’ve been the age they are now for like … forever.

I get tears in my eyes every time I watch this video. Every. Time. Their sweet little voices just MELT my heart and the innocent way they describe their days is just beyond endearing.

And their personalities are so obvious at this stage. Dude is all quiet and unobtrusive, cautious in his little boy way and Jazz is all in your face and demanding daddy to point the camera at him so he can make his point.

Yep. That’s about right. 😀

After watching this, I feel like some explanations are in order.

I’m not in this video because this was back when I was working nights at Wal-Mart. Because believe you me, if I had KNOWN there were wild squirrels running around the ankles of my shoeless sons I would NOT have allowed them in the same room with them.

This is proof positive how DIFFERENT men are from women when it comes to parenting styles. Gah.

Also, I have no clue HOW those squirrels got into our enclosed back porch. To my knowledge, that is the first and LAST time that ever happened (unless Kevin is not telling me something — honey?) So, the fact that they are in the porch area to begin with is bizarre.

I guess I should be thankful that the screened door was closed, otherwise the squirrel who was trying to get into our house would have gotten in and lord knows what sort of surprise THAT would have been for me when I got home from work that night.

I also don’t understand how allowing a couple of wild squirrels to run around you can be so commonplace. Notice the conversation is not centering around the fact that we have wild squirrels running around but on how the first day of school went. What the heck?! It’s like Kevin, wild squirrels — deal with them FIRST and then ask the boys how their day went. LOL

(Silly man)

Looking back, I wish I had done so many things differently. I really wish I had chilled out on the whole school/homework/sleep issues. I was so uptight and so controlling, I honestly think they hate school today because of me. I was so hard on them.

*sigh*

Take a chill pill, people. Learn from my mistakes.