First Day of School

The day before the first day of school, I had big plans for big fun with my big boys. We took Reed to daycare and then I dropped Theo off at his very best friend Johnny's house for a playdate. Beckett had a friend over as well, and he was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately the friend didn't want to stay at our house (a combination of not liking our cat plus missing his mom and maybe some anxiety about the first day of school) so he left after a short time. Beckett was bummed for a little while, especially when we picked up Theo who was just glowing from his time with Johnny. Luckily Beckett had the great idea to go to Wonder Works at the mall. I had the idea to do the ropes course instead of the "museum," which was immediately met by excited squeals. I was dismayed to learn, once we were there, at the desk, paying for the ropes course, that because of the kids' age I would be forced to go with them. Having just experienced the ferris wheel at the Fair, I felt terror and stomach pains at the idea of doing a ropes course three flights up from the mall floor. Theo and Beckett had both done a ropes course at Diggerland with Daddy and Uncle Jon, so they knew about the harnesses and the ropes and felt the security of not being able to fall. I have so far avoided the ropes courses with the kids so my only experience was when I broke my arm in fifth grade at the Cayuga Nature Center.

The first one across at Wonder Works was absolutely terrifying but I willed my way across it. Beckett was fearless from the first moment across, and loved every minute of it. I think Theo shared some of my trepidation and was picky about which elements to cross and which to avoid, but he pushed himself a lot and felt a lot of pride for doing what he did. Beckett was very fast across and was often waiting for me and Theo to finish a level or an area. In all we spent more than an hour up on the course and the nausea did eventually pass for me but I sure was happy to get back on solid ground!

Theo and Beckett had their first day of First Grade at Syracuse Latin Wednesday. They were so excited to go to school and get back in the swing of things.

The only good thing about the boys going back to school is that Reed and I had a day to ourselves, which we haven't had since school let out in June. We did some chores in the morning but then we hit the zoo, which was wonderfully desolate. We got to hear a tiger roar and ride both the elephant and tiger (the fake ones).