We have had a few snafus in regards to bussing, which I sort of expected. In our town, they are replacing a bridge over a major 4 lane highway and of course, we live on the other side of the bridge. So, we received our bussing instructions with a pick up time for during "construction".
On the first day of school, we were up early and pretty much ready to go. We had a good breakfast (Country Breakfast Casserole) and allowed time for pictures. We were in the midst of them and the girls told me they heard the bus. I told them no. Just a bit later, they told me again that they heard the bus and I told them again, noooo, it can't be the bus. It was too early. Well, it was the bus and it proceeded to go whizzing by. The girls were REALLY upset and wanted to ride the bus. So, I went back inside (after they ran out after it) and called the bus garage. I told them the bus came 20 minutes early and did they want me to bring them to school or what? (And this was 20 minutes before our "construction time" which was 20 minutes before our normal time). She proceeded to radio the driver and told him to go back and pick them up! YAY! Happy smiles all around.
I told some friends about this who live in larger suburban school districts and they told me they could tell I lived in a small town. That would never happen there. It would be more like: Who are you? You want us to do what? Hahahahahaha...
So, it took a few days, but I think we're all on track with the bus pick ups and drop offs now.
We just finished week two and the girls tell me that first grade is even "more funner" than Kindergarten! They love school and love their teachers! I can't believe what a difference a year makes! Last year at this time, we were deep in the adjustment process of kindergarten, a new school, being separated, etc. and pretty much every day somebody or both somebodies cried. It took weeks to really get the swing of things. At first I thought a lot had to do with the separation of twins, but then I realized it wasn't just that, it was just adjusting to Kindergarten in general as well.
THIS year has been like night and day. For the first few days, I'd have conversations with them after school (well, I do that every day) but, I was trying to see how things were going, were there any tears, etc. Nope, no tears. I was asking specifically about lunch and recess, because last year when they'd see each other at lunch, they'd both burst into tears and say, "I'm just happy to see my sister!" They would tell you that RECESS was their favorite part of school because they could see and play with each other. Now, talking with them those first couple days, I was confused. It didn't seem like they knew what they did during recess. So I asked them, "Don't you play with each other at recess?" Uh...no...was the answer. WOW! WOW! WOW! Since then, they have played with each other, but if they don't, it's not the end of the world anymore.
I'm just SO excited about this. As much as I love their sibling and twin bond (and it is STRONG), I really encourage them to do their own thing. I want them to have their own friends and if they want to do different activities, I'm all for it. That's not happened yet, but they do have different likes and interests so I would hope that by gaining some independence from each other, they will spread their wings even further and do some more things on their own.
I'm certain that day will come...but we're not there yet.
Next update: Scenes from Summer!
It's good to be back!