Nostalgic
Today most of the schools started in Atlanta. My facebook feed was bombarded with pictures of Andie and Zoe's friends' first day photos. I loved seeing everyone's bright faces ready to start another year. I think back to a year ago and it feels like ages ago. I cannot believe I was starting an amazing job and my kids were in the perfect schools for them. It was really an exciting, yet super cozy time of our lives. It's weird to think that Zoe would be starting kindergarten if we were in Atlanta.
Tonight as I was tucking in the girls, suddenly Zoe remembered a song from her preschool, GPCP. We all tried to remember the words and finally it stumbled out of our mouths. (Wash your hands song for those GPCP alumnae). We spent the next 15-20 minutes singing GPCP songs and remembering the fun times the girls had at that amazing, magical place. They were so lucky to start with that as their foundation. Even though I knew there were dishes to be done, lunches to made, and cakes to baked for a bake sale, I let myself be in the present with the girls... simply being in the moment of joyous memories. For a bit though, Zoe seemed sad. I simply smiled and said, "It is kind of sad to be away from there, but aren't we so lucky to have such happy memories in Atlanta? Think of all the memories we are making on our adventure in Fiji too." I am not sure if she needed to hear that or not, but maybe it was the perfect thing for me to hear. While I am sad to miss out on first day photos, and no longer be a part of those enchanted preschool years, I still know we are in the right place and I am so grateful for where we came from. One day in the future, maybe my girls will be laughing together over a glass of wine (far away future) over the family times in Fiji. Maybe they will even reminisce with their own daughters about the time their crazy family moved them across the world to a South Pacific island.
Side note- my second day of work today was incredible and exhausting. It's so awesome to be at work again...feeling like I am doing what I love. I went into every classroom today to introduce myself. Not one student (except Andie) knew what a school counselor is. How cool that I get to introduce them to the idea of school counseling. For the record, I tell them something like.... "School counselors help kids with their feelings. Sometimes when we are worried, scared, or upset it makes it hard to concentrate in class. I am here to help you with those feelings so that when you are in class you can focus on your learning." I then go into all the different ways I can help via classroom guidance, small group counseling, and individual counseling. How lucky am I that I can try to do that for these kids?
Tonight as I was tucking in the girls, suddenly Zoe remembered a song from her preschool, GPCP. We all tried to remember the words and finally it stumbled out of our mouths. (Wash your hands song for those GPCP alumnae). We spent the next 15-20 minutes singing GPCP songs and remembering the fun times the girls had at that amazing, magical place. They were so lucky to start with that as their foundation. Even though I knew there were dishes to be done, lunches to made, and cakes to baked for a bake sale, I let myself be in the present with the girls... simply being in the moment of joyous memories. For a bit though, Zoe seemed sad. I simply smiled and said, "It is kind of sad to be away from there, but aren't we so lucky to have such happy memories in Atlanta? Think of all the memories we are making on our adventure in Fiji too." I am not sure if she needed to hear that or not, but maybe it was the perfect thing for me to hear. While I am sad to miss out on first day photos, and no longer be a part of those enchanted preschool years, I still know we are in the right place and I am so grateful for where we came from. One day in the future, maybe my girls will be laughing together over a glass of wine (far away future) over the family times in Fiji. Maybe they will even reminisce with their own daughters about the time their crazy family moved them across the world to a South Pacific island.
Side note- my second day of work today was incredible and exhausting. It's so awesome to be at work again...feeling like I am doing what I love. I went into every classroom today to introduce myself. Not one student (except Andie) knew what a school counselor is. How cool that I get to introduce them to the idea of school counseling. For the record, I tell them something like.... "School counselors help kids with their feelings. Sometimes when we are worried, scared, or upset it makes it hard to concentrate in class. I am here to help you with those feelings so that when you are in class you can focus on your learning." I then go into all the different ways I can help via classroom guidance, small group counseling, and individual counseling. How lucky am I that I can try to do that for these kids?
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