School Daze

My kids started school today. In different schools. Different from each other and different from Florida. Since moving to Tennessee, a good portion of our time has been spent preparing them for today. For some illogical reason, the tax-free days are not until after school starts, so we only bought them the necessities to get through the first two days of school. Every article of clothing and pencil was bought with my husband lamenting, "You know, that would have been 10 percent less in a few days." Sometimes he would do the calculations and announce the price difference and sometimes everyone within a 12 foot radius would just hear a huge, mournful sigh. I think it actually causes him physical pain to spend money.

I'm sure I don't fully remember what it was like to be a kid, but I will never forget the breathless anxiety of the first day of school. I had tossed and turned the night before, a million thoughts bouncing around in my head. Were my clothes cool enough? Would my friends be in my classes? Would the teachers be nice? Would the castaways ever be rescued from Gilligan's Island? You know, the typical stuff.

My kids were surprisingly calm this morning. I hope it wasn't because they are clinically depressed.