A New Year...

School year, that is... And it has begun, my first week is all said and done.

I have some great stories. They range from one of my cases (charge?) stating what they did that cause the group work to not get done (let alone started) and trying to fix it to literally falling on the floor with laughter.

I love it. I love the kids, the teachers, the energy, the freshness of the new year and the eagerness to the new start. There is something freshly sharpened pencils and unused erasers that is exciting. The smell of new books and paper fill the classroom (before lunch) adds to the new year energy.

I am amazed at the difference between my 4th, 5th and 6th graders. The amount of maturity my 4th graders have gained before starting this year as 5th graders is amazing! They aren't the little kids they were before. It is incredible the difference that one year has made for these guys.

Then I read a post on a blog that I follow and feel like I am going to cry. I see this title I Cried Today on my blog list under Old Red Barn Co. and I feel my eyes burn a little. I have cried little for leaving my little guy to go to work. It is a necessity. I need to work, and I like to think that these kids need me. I can see these how much these students have changed over the summer and I find it wonderful. I see my little guy change every day. And it adds to my excitement.

But, my little guy is staying at home. I am the one going to school. In a way, I'm missing this precious time with him. He is growing up so fast. Before I know it, he will be one of those 5th graders awing a teacher at the difference by the growth that takes place over the year.

I cannot help but feel a little bit of sadness that time is passing, things are changing, and my little guy is growing up.

I saw parents faces as they watched there little kids go to school. Another year gone, another year older, and where has the time gone? I am looking in the monitor and see a little boy that takes up (it seems) more than half the length of the bed. He is growing bigger. Already a year and a half. Where has the time gone?

It is amazing how fast the time goes when changes happen right before our eyes...