School is definitely in the air around my house. The kids are starting to get antsy; there seems to be a sense of urgency surrounding their daily activities. I think inside, they are all subconsciously asking themselves, "How many friends can I play with or hang out with today?" "How many sleepovers can I go on or have at my house this week?" "Have I yelled, ran around, swung upside down, climbed on the monkey bars, slid down the slide, and ran around with really large sticks often enough this summer?" "Have I gone fishing, lost enough of dad's tools, used up enough gas in the three-wheeler this summer?" "Have I seen my boyfriend often enough, have I seen my boyfriend often enough, and have I seen my boyfriend often enough this summer?" (Obviously this last part is about Kirstin.)
I know part of the "antsy" with Becca, at least, is due to some new medications she's taking for her asthma. A week ago, she had a severe attack that resulted in a quick trip to the doctor for review. At first they were just going to renew her inhaler, but upon realizing that her asthma was not under control, she was also given a nebulizer and Advair. So...one of the side affects is an increase in level of activity. Imagine that, eh? A 10 year old being active.
David starts back to school next week already. He'll be in his 2nd year of Practical Nursing. He, too, is suffering from School is in the air Syndrome." With David, however, the syndrome manifests itself in slightly more subtle ways. Okay, so maybe they're not so subtle. Witness (if you were here, anyways) the gentle ways in which he interacts with his family. Example: When eating his dinner, "Dang nab it! Where's the pepper?" hmmmmmm All of us realize, of course, that this is a part of School is in the air Syndrome, and react (I should say "don't react") accordingly. David (sadly) will not be home during the school week. Because his school is 75 miles from here, and most of those miles are on a road that does not have cell phone coverage, and because we have really nasty winters, we have decided that David will be staying with a friend of his during the school week and coming home on weekends.
I think it's going to be very strange, once school starts. No husband sleeping after a hard night's work, no kids and their friends running in and out and all around; no phones ringing off their hooks for the kids.
I think that Back-to-School is maybe not something to be looked forward to after all.
