Never Forget

Everyone who can remember this day has a story about where they were when they heard. For me, I was 17 and I'd never experienced so much grief, horror, and fear at the same time. And I was across the country from it. The harsh reality of not being safe was a shock.

A few years later, I was living on the east coast and was around people who had seen it in person, who had lost a loved one (sometimes more than one), who were affected by it on a much deeper, personal level. Stories that people so openly shared with me are forever in my mind.

I took a solo trip to New York City one weekend. I didn't expect to have any 9/11 stories shared with me because I didn't know anyone and I wasn't planning on asking a stranger. But I met some wonderful New Yorkers who, when they learned that I was on my first trip to New York, shared their stories with me. The valet at the train station and the cab driver who could barely speak English made huge impressions on me that day. And for them to shed a tear with a stranger, remembering a day nearly four years prior, really showed me that such an awful thing truly did bring the country together.

We will never forget.

Prayer Request

Please keep my sister in prayer. She had a miscarriage this evening, 5-6 months into her pregnancy. I know her pregnancy is a surprise to some of you (I hadn't really talked about it), but regardless of the circumstances, this will be a rough time for her and the family. Prayers of healing and good thoughts are very much appreciated.

Preschool time!

While Aiden had his big 1st day yesterday, today was Nathan's 1st day of preschool! Well, it's the 1st day of his 2nd year of preschool, but a 1st day nonetheless!

 Isn't he looking so old?

After dropping Aiden off at school, we gathered our things and headed to preschool together. Since it was the 1st day, all the parents stayed. Nathan enjoyed having me there, but we are old pros at this (it's our 4th year at the school - although we didn't attend last year), so it didn't really feel like a 1st day. I still haven't wrapped my brain around the fact that once this preschool year is over, my littlest boy will be headed to kindergarten! So we're just going to focus on preschool time as best as we can!

Nathan adjusted back to the classroom easily. He happily decorated his name with crayons and watercolors.

Then he re-discovered the quiet box with all of the stuffed animals, where he got in some good snuggle time with Mr Bear, Baby Bunny (that he stole from the neighboring classroom two years ago and it's stayed in the current classroom ever since!), and Baby Koala.

Nathan has a girlfriend already. She developed a crush on him quickly and followed him around for the rest of the morning.

Then it was dancing time!

And story time.

After mini-meal (the snack), we headed outside to develop our friendships a little more.

It was such a fun day!

We are so lucky that we were able to find a preschool that has become an important part of our family. When we started at this social constructivist co-op, I knew it would mean we'd be involved, but not at the level that it's become. The teachers aren't just teachers - they are our friends and we enjoy spending time with them. We've gotten to know the workings of the school at an amazing level and I've been asked to take over the newsletter editor position for this year, which is a school council position. It's an honor to have the school director ask me to take on something like that and I enjoy giving my time to assist the school with one of their main forms of school/parent communication. This year is going to be busy, but I know Nathan and I will thoroughly enjoy ourselves!

An Official 1st Grader

The alarms went off, the coffee pot started brewing, and it was time. The morning was a quick blur of getting ready, taking the walk to school, and getting him settled into his classroom. It was an odd feeling of time being slowed and yet going much faster than I wanted it to. We now have a 1st grader in the house.

See how excited he is? This was his self-proclaimed "super excited face".

Honestly, he woke up with a smile on his face and ready to begin the day. He wouldn't eat breakfast, even though I'd gotten Eggo waffles specifically for him. I guess he was a little nervous, but wouldn't admit it. We all walked to the school as a family (John included), met his teacher, and Aiden happily discovered that he has a few friends from kindergarten in his class. I gave him little reminders for the day: Listen to the teacher, there's the classroom bathroom, we're not buying the cafeteria food, so remember your lunch box at lunch time, etc. And then I gave him a hug and left. I almost lost it as we were leaving the school, but have managed to just get a little misty-eyed instead of having full-on bawling fits. That was yesterday! I think I got most of it out of my system.

I think he was a little more nervous once we actually got into the classroom!

2:30 seems like a LONG time from now. I'm sure eventually I'll get used to it and maybe even begin to like it. We'll see. For now, the house is oddly quiet.