Nostalgia and Fresh Starts

My son Erik starts first grade today. He's six. He's tall and adorable and growing up so so fast.

I used to teach, and this time of year always fills me with such profound, visceral excitement, even now that I've been out of the classroom for eight (!) years. As a teacher, I reveled in the smell of new school supplies, the order of the untouched classroom, the reinvention of lesson plans, and the inspiration of new ideas and challenges. All of that mixed together meant a down-to-the-toes adrenaline rush. Of course, then the kids show up and you start counting the days until Thanksgiving break. But that's not the point. The point is: new school year = fresh start. Excitement.

But now I'm a mommy, and the excitement of the new school year is blended with anxiety over new teachers, class placement, and general queasiness over academic and social tangles that my over-protective self wants to shield from my baby. He's not a baby though. He's six. And he can do this.

Anyway, the new school year always inspires nostalgia, too. Those of you who know me are aware that our family had a non-traditional start. Erik is from Russia, and we adopted him when he was 14 months old. My husband Ryan and I kept a blog throughout our journey, and both the process of writing the posts and the incredibly supportive comments we received almost literally kept us sane during that time. It was raw, and emotional, and supportive, and lovely, and important. I loved that connection. I was grateful for every comment, every site visit.

We stopped posting shortly after we arrived home. Not because we wanted to, but because life as a newly-minted family with two jobs and an energetic toddler was not conducive to creative thought, or any thought for that matter.

Now, almost five years later, I’m nostalgic. So I thought I’d reach out. Let you know what is going on with us, things I’m thinking about, or trying, or anything that strikes my fancy.

I hope you enjoy, and I hope you comment!