The Times...Yeah, They Are A-Changing

So much to tell...so little time.

First and foremost, the kids started school. They were great....and so was I! That morning, last Wednesday, the whole family walked Jules and Samuel, out to the mouth of the driveway. They were beyond excited! So sweet in their new shoes and holding their lunch cans. Their backpacks looked so big on their backs. The only time I started to mist up was when they were about to board the bus. It was like in the movies, where their whole five and a half years of life, played in fast forward in my head.

They got on the bus on it's way down the road(our street has a "dead-end"). You would not believe how many kids get on the bus on it's way down. I don't understand this generation. When I went to school, we would sit on the couch and watch for the bus to go down the road. Then we would walk out to the road and wait for it to come back up. That way you were not standing outside freezing to death for no reason.

Anyway, as soon as the kids were on the bus, we dropped Abby off at Sherry's house and headed for the school. We got there just in time to see, from a distance, Jules and Samuel getting off of the bus. We followed them into the school, and up to their classroom. Paulina was nice enough to show them around. They were very excited to finally be in their classroom. Samuel immediately dropped everything and started walking around and checking it out. While Jules immediately started emptying her backpack and getting all of her things organized with the help of the teacher. Totally shows their individual personality. Samuel, after finally sitting down, looked up at her and asked, "Are you Mrs. McCabe?". She smiled at him and said, "Yes I am". While Jules asked her, "Are these markers washable?". She laughed and said, "Yes".

We just stood back and watched them and we could tell that they were going to be just fine. So then we left and went back and picked up Abby, and then headed into town. It was quite strange just having her in the backseat. Everytime we stopped somewhere, Jason and I would both open our backdoors expecting to unbuckle Jules and Samuel. The first time we did that, Abby looked at us smilingly and said, "Just one kid!". I think she really enjoyed getting all of our attention. But every now and then she would mention their names. And that night at supper time, her "low" was "missing Jules and Samuel". But really, she was fine too.

I was just so happy that I was as ok as I was. Other than a little mist as they were getting on the bus, there was no tears. No real anxiety or irrational worries. Hurricane Katrina really slapped me across the face, so to speak. You know, here we have thousands upon thousands of people with nothing, everything gone, and I'm going to worry about my kids starting kindergarten? We're lucky they have a school to go to. I cried most of that week and still can, if I let myself watch the news. And did anyone else watch Oprah that tuesday? Unbelievable. Unspeakable. And worst of all....preventable.

Also on tuesday.....Mom called me to tell me that I had to go to work! On Friday! I was a little surprised that I was going to go to work so soon. I thought since I was only the second spare, that I wouldn't work for quite a while. But Cheryl was taking the first week off because her son was getting married, so I had go in for 8:30am on Friday. It was weird to say the least. Luckily, Jason was off that day, so I didn't need to leave Abby with a sitter. But to walk up those stairs, be in that cafeteria, and not be a student was rather strange. It will take some getting used to, I guess. And the kids loved seeing me there at lunchtime.

Then there was the weekend and Dad's 60th birthday party and Grammy's palliative care memorial service........ on September 11th, no less! Quite the bittersweet weekend. Then on Sunday night, Mom called to give me the news that Cheryl was no longer coming back to work, which meant that I was now the spare. And since Bernadette was going to be away Monday and Tuesday, they needed me to work. I had a bit of a freak-out. Little bit. I felt like I was deserting Abby, that I didn't do this when Jules and Samuel were home, but as soon as they went off to school, I was leaving her. Sherry had already agreed to keep Abby whenever I needed her to....without pay. We agreed on a babysitting exchange. Whenever she needs Paulina to get off the bus here, she can. Jason works shift work so he is off a lot during the week, which means there will be a lot of times I won't need her to watch Abby.

So in the run of a week, things here at the Keenan household, has changed dramatically. So how am I doing with all of this change? Well, that depends on what time of day you ask. Sometimes I am still sad that the kids are gone to school, sometimes I am freaking out that I suddenly have a job again, but mostly I am alright. Today is the first day I will be home alone with just Abby. I'm looking so forward to it. Already, I've got towels out on the line, freshly baked bran muffins on the counter cooling and Abby sitting on my lap. She says hello. Life is good.