Butt Out

The kids are back in school. I could stop this post right there and every mom would know exactly what I was talking about. While the quiet of the day is something I cherish, I know that this year will mean projects, field trips, sick kids, and for us, at the end of the year a new high school graduate.

Our youngest son started middle school this year. The same year our oldest daughter started her senior year. Over the past few weeks I have not been okay with these milestones. This is not something you think about when your children are small. I used to think that parents of high school/middle school kids were old. I couldn't imagine being old enough to have middle/high school children. Now that's all I have. I have two in middle school and two in high school. 

I struggled with the transition to middle school with all the kids. While middle school is a transition all kids have to go through, that doesn't make it any easier on a mama bear. I stressed about them fitting in, having friends, finding an activity that they liked and not having constant contact with the teachers. Our three oldest kids did just fine. They found their grove, so to speak, and middle school has been smooth sailing for them. I was worried about our youngest. He begged me to home school him on several occasions. He didn't want to go to middle school. My heart was breaking. I wanted to hug him tight and tell him he didn't have to go. 

I started to think of different schooling options for our youngest. I thought maybe I could home school him again. I quickly shot down that idea because I have a full course load myself this semester. I could find him a private school, but that would be an exhausting search for the perfect fit. If we were going to transition him to a different school we had to be sure that this was going to be the school that he would graduate from. At the end of the day, after many discussions with my husband and other moms, we decided to let our youngest go to the middle school that the rest of the kids went to. We came to the conclusion that we need to let him try this and if it doesn't work for him we can then search out alternatives.

The first day of school came. While we were getting ready for school our youngest says to his brother "I don't need your advice, I will be just fine." That was like God hitting me in the head with a frying pan. It was like He was saying to me "HELLLLLOOOO, if you would pay attention, I have this under control." 

Our youngest had a great first day of school. He was so excited to go back to school today. He was even checking his backpack to make sure he had everything. I hope that's something that will last all year long!

I get so busy trying to control the situation that I forget to stop and let God be God and get out of the way. I swear I am my own worst enemy at times. Today I am reminded again that I need to get my booty out of the way and let God do His thing. After all, I think He knows better than me.