Whirlwind(s)

So this morning I was pleasantly surprised when my kids, without having to be yanked from their beds at 7:00 a.m., bounded out of bed, into the showers and ate their breakfast so quickly, we made it to early school. (Note: We only make it to early school when I absolutely have to be at work on time, Dave is out of town and I have to get my workout done early in the morning because the evening is busy. And usually every minute of those mornings involves me talking in the upper ranges of my not-so-nice-voice, i.e. yelling.)

Why? Today was our last day of school for 2010-2011. I now have a fifth grader and two first graders. I did fine today. No tears were shed and I am looking forward to the next 90 days of summer (yes, we counted, exactly 90.) For perspective, here they are on the first day...



And the last day!



Tonight, as the girls were watching Tangled and Davis was at basketball practice, I started going through papers, art projects, journals, etc. I have neatly packed it all away in my 2010-2011 school year box. Now, I am sad. I don't want to believe that in ten years that box will be how I remember my daughters' kindergarten years, but it will be.



I caught myself describing the school year as a whirlwind. During lunch this afternoon, sitting down with some friends and their kids to celebrate the last day of school, we experienced a whirlwind of another sort, a tornado. I am happy to report that there was little to no damage done by this storm. Exactly, how I was feeling as I put the lid on the box and carried it to the basement - little to no damage.