Bridging the Gap

My excuse for so many random pictures?....to share my children with their grandparents 700 miles away.......

The other morning, I went to answer the phone while the girls were in the bathtub...I came back and someone else had decided he needed a bath too!

Aaron tried watermelon and popsicles for the first time this summer. He really enjoyed them both, except he couldn't figure out how to eat the popsicle without gagging himself!

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Brynn's first day of school. August 8, 2007 I think I sent the email to you. . .but I posted it here with the pictures for the record.

August 8, 2007 - My thoughts about this FIRST in our family. . . . Well today was a milestone for our family. It was Brynn's first day of kindergarten. Gulp, Sigh. . . The whole event started yesterday as we went to her kindergarten orientation. We went to the school for Brynn to meet her teacher and for her to get acquainted with the classroom. Her teachers name is Ms. Bueno.

I often wish I could get into the heads of my children to know exaclty what they are thinking. I think I get bits and pieces of what's on their mind by the comments they make. I know she and I were having similar thoughts and fears. As we stood outside the classroom waiting for the doors to open, we saw and heard many parents speaking to their children in their native tongue. Most were not speaking English. We were prepared for this. . .Joseph had already met with the administration at an earlier date and voiced concern about any language barriers that might exist. The administration assured him that while most students speak Spanish, and some Punjabi (sp) many also speak English and that the students would be taught in English. So we weren't all that surprised at the situation. As we stood there, Brynn turned to me and said, "Mom, the Cheetah Girls (a musical group from the Disney Channel) speak Spanish and they also speak English." I think Brynn was trying to console herself, trying to make sense of it all in her own mind, and trying to assure herself that it would be okay. Little did she know that she was also assuring me that things would be okay.

Brynn has been so excited to start school, she says everyday that the reason she is excited to go to school is to meet new friends. There is one little girl her age at church, the bishop's daughter, and she is going into first grade. Brynn loves to play with her and have her over, but she has been so excited to make new friends at school. The other day she heard Joseph and I talking about the concern we had about the demographics of the school, purely because of the language. She came to us a little later and said, "Is everyone at my new school going to speak Spanish? Because I don't know Spanish and it will be hard for me to make new friends?" This about ripped our hearts out. It's hard enough to be worry, but to know that your children worry about something is torture! We assured her that most of the children would speak Spanish, but that most would probably speak English too, and if they didn't they would learn, and she might learn a little Spanish in the process. We then recalled all of the Spanish words any of us could think of. (Which weren't very many ) Anyway, so after the orientation we came home and proceeded to get ready for the BIG DAY. Family dinner, a father's blessing, a bath, setting out the clothes, putting her hair in curlers, stories, prayer and bedtime. At one point during the process we were sitting on her bed and she said again, "What if all the kids speak Spanish?" Abby then decided to tackle this one. . ."Well Brynn, if they speak Spanish all you do is pretend that you are speaking Spanish too, like this. . ." and she proceeded to show off her (non-existent) Spanish skills. You can always count on Abby to relieve the tension in any given situation. Thank you Abby!

About 2 1/2 hours (and 5 tucks back in bed) later, she finally went to sleep. I remember how exciting the first day was. I could never sleep the night before. Even when I was the teacher. Every time she came out of her room, she said with a huge grin, "I'm just SO excited!" Well today came, she woke up at 6 a.m. ready to go. I was at the gym, but Joe talked with her about the first day of school and what an exciting time this is. . .she said they just sat on the bed talking about all of the fun things you get to do at school. This morning lasted an eternity, for her and for me because she was begging to go all morning. We went outside to pull weeds and water flowers. This was not the best idea since we were out there when all of the kids were on their way to school. That's what you get when your the new kid on the block, the afternoon time slot. She was ready to eat lunch at 9:45, not because she was hungry, I'm sure. We held off until 10:45 by doing her hair and picking up around the house. After lunch she brushed her teeth and put her backpack on. I interviewed her with the video camera, and took some stillshots of her outside. I asked her what she remembered about the blessing her daddy gave to her and she said she remembered that, "angels would be watching over her." That melted my heart!

It was then 11:00. School started at 11:25, one problem, the school is only about a 3 minute walk from our house. I couldn't handle her begging to go any more. We went outside and walked around the block a couple of times. I have never walked so slow in my life! It was 11:20. The time had finally come to line up at the door. I must admit, I expected my child to be a minority and I was excited about the opportunity for her to experience diversity, something that I certainly didn't grow up with, but I wasn't prepared for her to be the only white person in the class. I don't think she even noticed. The line started moving forward and we were at the end. . .I walked with her and watched as other parents hovered at the door and the teacher told them they couldn't come in. . .what? I wanted to help her hang her back pack up, help her find her seat, make sure she was settled. . . nope you had to say good-bye at the door. I pulled her back and gave her one last hug, holding back the tears I let her know how happy and excited I was for her. She turned away and walked into the door without looking back. I stared as the teacher closed the door. The tears had welled up and as soon as I was out of sight, they fell freely. To have a child is to forever have your heart go walking around outside your body. I called my mom and we cried together. We played at the park until I pulled myself together. We came home, put Aaron down for his nap. Then Abby and I spent some time reading stories and playing and talking. I am so excited to have this one-on-one time with her everyday. Now she is napping until we get Brynn. She will miss Brynn, they are the dearest of friends and Brynn is sooo good to her. Everyday at 3:00 will be a sweet reunion for these two sisters. I can't wait!

(Later note) And of course everything went well. Brynn continues to love school and has made many friends. I have to admit, I feel kind of spoiled when I pick her up from school, I'm the easiest mom to pick out of the crowd, so I don't have to wait very long. Being the minority has its advantages!

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And the county fair pictures.....not prettiest background if you ask me, but I adore the subjects. I was at home preparing my talk and YW lesson, I had double duty the next day.