Since Sawyer started school this year, I have been waiting to see how he would adjust. As y’all know, he has been dreading 6th grade all summer long, and I was very nervous about how he would adjust to the changes in his daily schedule and the level of his schoolwork.
I am happy to say that he is loving 6th grade and doing great! He loves his teachers and he gets to go to an after school program our district offers for STEM activities, which he absolutely loves. I am so relieved that the transition has gone well!
All three of the kids are really thriving this year. I sit back and think about them sometimes, and how each one of my kids is so different but so alike, too, and I feel so proud of them for everything they are and all that they do in their daily lives.
Emily, my oldest, is a Resident Advisor for the third year in a row at her college, and she is absolutely rocking it. She is so responsible and mature for her age, it blows me away sometimes; she is an incredible leader and she has great management skills. She’s currently in her senior year of college; that is crazy to me. It feels like we just moved her in for freshman year! She has plans to get her master’s degree to be a college art professor, though, so she will be in school for a few more years after this one. I never cease to be amazed by her creativity, her wonderfully kind heart, and her responsibility in her job.
Caitlyn is a junior in high school, and acing all her classes- including multiple honors classes! She is also super busy with marching band season; she is in her band’s color guard, and she’s an incredible performer; I am always blown away by how easy and natural she makes it look. I did color guard in school so I know twirling a flag and marching across a football field in between lines of kids playing instruments is not an easy task, but Caitlyn makes it look effortless. She’s the tallest girl in their guard, and she is so graceful and beautiful out there. I can’t wait to watch her perform again!
And of course, there is Sawyer. He is not only doing awesome in 6th grade this year, but he has the biggest, most loving heart of any child I’ve ever met. He is so sensitive, and so full of happiness that you can’t help but smile around him. His hugs are like therapy for the soul- ask anybody who’s been lucky enough to get one. He is growing up, though, and the transition to middle school has matured him a little bit. He doesn’t come give me hugs like he used to, or lay on the couch with me anymore; my boy is “too cool” for mom sometimes. It’s ok, though… I know he can’t be a baby forever!
As for me, well… I’m doing ok. This year has been a hard one for me for a couple of different reasons, but I am surviving. My kids are my sanctuary and sanity; they are what keeps me going on the days I don’t feel like getting out of bed. Life is not great, but it could be a lot worse, so I am choosing to focus on the good in our lives, and finding joy in spending time with my kids and our family. So I will take joy in the fact that all three of my beautiful babies are doing so wonderfully, and that they know they are so very loved.
