First Day of School

The boys just left for their first day of school, and I’m praying that it’s going to be a good year for both of them. Finn is in fifth grade, which will mark his sixth and final year at his elementary school, and Simon is entering first grade, no more little kindergarten stuff for that dude.

I’m hopeful for a good year. We shouldn’t have many problems where Simon is concerned; he likes school well enough to tolerate it, and while he is excitable, he usually needs to so incited by the actions of others. Finn, on the other hand, can just be excitable all on his lonesome, needing no inciting actions from a teacher and classmates, but only their presence.

He’s such a wonder, that Finn. If he’s into it, he’s all about it, and if he ain’t, well, he just ain’t. The multitudes of people who have parented such types will attest that the whole bag is just trying to make them care about what you need them to care about. The aptitude is there if you can just get them to that point.

I have no doubt that if you took all of the college students in a four county area and tested them on their knowledge of dinosaurs, animals, and nature as it applies to such, Finn could place in the top ten percent. His knowledge is becoming encyclopedic, and he’s always wanting to read and learn more.

And everything else is simply time-wasteful drudgery.

And he is an excitable boy. That’s the phrase that comes to mind, and maybe it should bother me more that the Warren Zevon song “Excitable Boy,” from which I take it, takes such a dark and tragic turn, but it really doesn’t. It doesn’t because Finn isn’t a bad boy; rather, he’s just a bit high strung. Last year, while it proved to be his best academic year, brought concern with his ability to be a distraction in class. With constant and concerted effort, Becky and his teacher had some victories. Still, he is who he is, and if that has its rough edges, they are only a part of that. He’ll be fine.

And, Simon, well, I have the feeling that that little scout just wants the whole process of the school day to just get over as seamlessly as possible. Simon’s the kind of kid who is just cool to watch 14 straight episodes of a show–right now it’s Gravity Falls–maybe meander into the dining room to play with some dinosaurs and just listen for a bit, eat a yogurt, hold his hamster, and stay that way as long as he can. What’s more, I think he spends most of the rest of his time patiently waiting to get back there. He’ll do his chores agreeably enough, and he’ll probably go outside and toss some ball with me if I ask or work on a project if his mother asks, but if we don’t ask, he’ll be cool.

And that’s how I imagine he looks at school, he does tolerate it, reasonable enough that it’s just something that he’s got to get through in order to get back to what he’d rather be doing.

In all, they are both just wonderful boys, and I couldn’t be more proud of them. I am getting better at reminding myself that they’re just kids, that they don’t reason as well as we do, and I’m praying that I continue to accept that even more as they go through this year.

Anyway, that’s that; the kids are off to school, only 180-some days to go.

Hope you’re well.