it's the most wonderful time of the year.......

taken outside the british library.

they were matching. so i made them take a picture. and they actually cooperated. amazing.

yup.
the most wonderful time of the year.
no...not december and christmas.
but rather, august and the beginning of SCHOOL.
my instagram feed has been littered with snaps of well-groomed children in their back-to-school best.
hair combed. brand new shoes tied. backpacks strapped to their backs.
smiles of excitement, apprehension and reluctance (sometimes all three in one smile!).

and here we are.
living in london.
not as residents...but as visitors in a foreign land.
so my children will not be joining the throngs.
i won't be forced to battle the back-to-school store aisles, tussling over the last pack of pencils.
i won't have to suffer the cheque book shock of filling closets and drawers with school appropriate clothing.
i won't have to cringe when the too-helpful shoe store sales person tells me that my son AND daughter no longer fit children's size shoes (elijah has been out of the smaller (therefore cheaper) child's size shoes for some time. but i'm truly afraid lucy will be out of them this autumn as well).
i won't have to sigh when little sister starts pouting and whining because her siblings get all these new, fun supplies and clothes.

i won't have to endure the back to school scramble.
not this year anyway.
and i really should be thankful.
grateful that i can take advantage of discounted school supplies and clearanced clothes.

i SHOULD be grateful.
and i am.
i am sincerely glad i won't have to suffer through the madness this year.
but...
i'm also a bit sad.
sad to be missing that special first day. 
especially as this was to be lucy's first day of kindergarten.
a milestone if there ever was one.
and that makes my heart heavy.
yes, they are having an experience of a lifetime.
and yes, they will be back in school soon.
and yes again, i am doing school work with them here at home.
but still...
still i'm disappointed.
just a bit.

to combat my feelings of disappointment, i did what i do best.
i got my camera out.
stuck their faces in front of it.
asked them questions about what they most looked forward to about the coming year.
and it helped.
a bit.
i'm so glad for these snaps...but will be thankful once they're safely ensconced in their appropriate classrooms.

"what are you looking forward to most about school, lucy?" ...

FRIENDS. (oh this girl misses her friends!)

and learning how to read. really read. so i can read stories to sam! (she loves pages through books, telling the stories by looking at the pictures. she can't wait to know what the words say though...)

"second grade, elijah. what are you looking forward to about second grade?"

playing with my friends at recess. (friends have been missed most acutely on this trip)

and maths. (to which i asked "why maths?"...to which he shrugged and answered, "because it's easy." hmmm...he did NOT get that from me!)