SCHOOL DAYS

I always feel a bit intimidated by the beginning of a new school year. This morning, I woke up feeling like one of those wired, jumpy horses in the starting gate at the racetrack. My Monday To-Do list was impossibly long.

Deep breath.

Helen and I headed out before anyone else was out of bed to exercise at ADBC Fitness Studio in Troy. Working out with Mom several times each week is going to be part of Helen's P.E. this school year. It was a great way to start the day and the school year, and the exercise and conversation helped relieve some of the nervous tension I was feeling.

Back home, Reuben was making biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Love. That. Man.

I fed and watered the chickens, ate breakfast, showered, and started the first load of laundry. Then, on to math.

Helen is in the Saxon math green book this year, the last math book she'll have under Mom's tutelage. Where have the years gone? We worked through Lesson 1, and then, while Helen tackled her "homework" problem set, I tackled more laundry, answered email, and worked on a writing assignment.

More school. More laundry. Lunch.

Deep breath.

More school. More laundry. More writing/work.

We are almost finished with Day 1 of the new school year.

And everyone in the house is still alive and well.

I feel a little less panicked now, as Day 1 begins to wind down.

Only 179 days to go.