Back To School

No, not Steve and his syllabi-from-hell over at the academy.

For the youngins.

This morning, I waved g'bye to the eleven year old as he climbed aboard the bus heading off to 6th grade. In my town, we have a 5th/6th Intermediate school, so he's been spared the dreaded "middle school" experience for one more year. As of now, he's the confident and seasoned 6th grader.

My take on middle school is that - more so than high school - it's a rough couple of years because of the age. Hormones are raging out of control for the first time. Zits and braces start to appear. And the physical development of both boys and girls ranges across the spectrum for kids all the same age. If memory serves, it's probably the time when a kid will be most self-conscious about...well, everything.

This will probably be the last year that I can look on him as still a boy. After this, it will be more like young man. Bittersweet. I'll be doing everything I can to make this year move as slowly as possible.

Sniff.