It's that time of year again. The temperature is dropping, the leaves are changing colors, and you start seeing children getting off the school buses in the afternoon. Yup, school days are here again. I still can't believe my oldest boy is in school already. Okay, technically he's not a school aged child yet - but he is in Pre-Kindergarten! Not quite Kindergarten, but no longer a preschooler. Or is "pre-kindergarten" just a fancy cover up title for an older preschooler? Either way, he loves going to school and Mommy loves the two and half hour break each afternoon! Jackson now goes to his school four afternoons a week. Tuesday through Friday afternoons, he gets to be with his friends and I get a brief period of time to catch up on things around the house before my son the tornado comes back. We've just finished up only the second week since school started again and we've all loved every minute of it.
Let me tell you, this boy was beyond excited to pick out his backpack for the new school year. Ever since he saw a Spongebob Squarepants pack at our local Wal-Mart, he was determined to carry Mr. Pants on his back this year. I tried to entice him with a lovely Buzz Lightyear pack or even a Spiderman pack - oh no, he wasn't having it. He wanted the famous sponge to accompany him to school each day. I was so thrilled when the one he picked out happened to be the cheesiest backpack I have ever seen. No one will ever be able to miss seeing my boy trotting up the sidewalk with this thing gleaming in the sun. Ready for this?
May I introduce you to Jackson's best friend this year - Spongebob Squarepants.
His first day of school was fantastic. He woke up that morning and could speak of nothing else but his new classroom, which friends from last year would be in his class, which new kids would he meet. He was so excited that he could barely eat his breakfast, and if you know my son, you would know that is almost unheard of. And get this - he was the one to insist on taking a bath that morning so he would be clean for his first day. He is such a character sometimes!
After getting dressed and handsome, he was ready to take the standard "first day of school" pictures in front of our house. What blew me away was taking a peek at his first day picture from last year and comparing it to this year. He has grown so much, it's hard to believe.
On our drive to the school, you can only guess what music he wanted to listen to. You got it - the Spongebob Squarepants soundtrack. Awesome. I couldn't help but laugh a little when I looked in the rear view mirror and saw his head bobbing along to the beat of the music. When we arrived, he jumped out of the car and immediately saw his best buddy, Damian, getting out of his car at that same moment. I'm not kidding, it was like they were long lost brothers - they ran towards each other and embraced in a huge hug. I could almost hear the corny violins and see everything in slow motion.
We walked the boys into the classroom and Jackson immediately found his cubby. He put his backpack away and we found his place at the table. He insisted on sitting next to Damian and his other best friend, Isabella. It was so fun to see the three of them together again - I always called them the "Three Amigos". So cute.
Hard at work already.
It's going to be a great year.
