After a weekend with our boys youngest cousins before they head home to Tchad Africa, we returned Sunday afternoon so my wife could put the final touches on her classroom to be ready for the first day of school.
The excitement most have been more than my second son could handle, as he climbed into bed (not his own of course) around 5 PM, where he remained until I removed him shortly after 8 PM and transplanted him to his own bed ... with a 101+ degree temperature.
The overwhelming anticipation for the first day of school was not limited to my social-butterfly turned bed-bug. My normally stand-off-ish, champion of fairness (particularly as it pertains to himself) uncharacteristically prepared supper--wonderful mini pizzas with olives and sweet red peppers--for his parents (his mother did not show-up for supper) and himself, made his lunch, got ready for bed, laid out his school clothes*, cleaned the rat cage and than patiently read on his loft until his youngest brother was in bed, all while his next youngest brother "laid around."
The excitement most have been more than my second son could handle, as he climbed into bed (not his own of course) around 5 PM, where he remained until I removed him shortly after 8 PM and transplanted him to his own bed ... with a 101+ degree temperature.
The overwhelming anticipation for the first day of school was not limited to my social-butterfly turned bed-bug. My normally stand-off-ish, champion of fairness (particularly as it pertains to himself) uncharacteristically prepared supper--wonderful mini pizzas with olives and sweet red peppers--for his parents (his mother did not show-up for supper) and himself, made his lunch, got ready for bed, laid out his school clothes*, cleaned the rat cage and than patiently read on his loft until his youngest brother was in bed, all while his next youngest brother "laid around."
(*This is how my young legalist "lays out" his school clothes)
However, the enthusiasm did not stop with "sleep." He soon emerged from the bedroom and announced that he couldn't get to sleep, to which I told him he needed to try ... for AT LEAST 5 minutes. I guess all the excitement had unbeknownst rubbed off on me, because after lying in bed for an hour I found that I too was able to sleep and had to get up and read for another hour before I even felt remotely sleepy (the frappuccino I had 30 minutes before bed might have had a little something to do with that).
At 6:44 AM my eldest appeared, having dressed, brushed hair (a blue-moon rarity), packed his lunch, gathered all needed supplies together ready to load into the car for the 1.5 mile trek to school (at 8:30), and asked what he could do, all before his normal 7 AM wake-up call. Wanting to finish my morning devotional, I decided to press my luck and suggested he make breakfast. Which amazingly he did without hesitation, along with setting the table and preparing something special for his finicky youngest brother (OK, it was just Cheerios--but even that gave me pause as to the possible need to call Guinness Book).
I don't know. Either he is thrilled to finally be rid of his brother (they are in different classrooms this year) or he has ... discovered girls aren't all that bad. PLEASE let it be the first one!
PS. Did I mention that worship this morning was ... Cain & Abel?
