Great Expectations

August 11, 2008

This time next week Spiff will begin his final year of middle school. Scamp will begin first grade. Me? I’ll be back in the classroom, helping teachers keep their classrooms running smoothly.

I’ll probably also have lunch duty, where I will pretend to steal kids lunches and make them think twice about starting that food fight they so want to try. I’ll also see students who pack nothing but snack food for lunch. I’ll worry about those kids, because it will take everything I have not to buy them a hot lunch so that they will function better in the classroom. I’ll also try to stop the kids from making “science experiments”; the thing they do when they take their milk and anything they don’t like to eat on the lunch tray and mix it up into something gross. I’ll greet them with smiles and high fives as they sit down. I’ll tell them how great it is to see them again, all grown up and one grade higher then the last time I saw them. I’ll remark how much they have grown over the summer, and ask what they did, where they went. It’ll be great to see them again.

I’ll watch Scamp head into first grade, thankful that his kindergarten teacher prepared him so well for what was ahead of him (even though at first I doubted her abilities and motives). I’ll worry that he might lag behind, maybe even struggle a little bit. I’ll secretly hope that I get to see him during my lunch duty, just like I did last year. I’m hopeful that his new teacher will appreciate the quirks and the genuine joy of my son, and try not to browbeat him into submission. I’ll pray that he forms a bond with a classmate like he did last year that carried him through the school year. I’ll pray even harder that child is in his class again.

Mostly, I’ll pray we both get to school on time. (Please pray for us as well. Every little bit of good karma helps, I think.)

I’ll think about the kids I worked with last year, and hope the person working with them this year loves them as much as I do. I’ll worry about a few of them; will they like the new teacher, the new assistant. I’ll hope the summertime break mellowed one of them out, and that child is ready to come back better than ever, and ready to learn. I’ll secretly wish I was there again, but remembering that change can be good, even for those who abhor change in any form. I’ll make sure to stop in to see them, to applaud their great works and cheer them on. I’ll miss them.

I’ll worry about Spiff no matter what I’m doing or where I am. I’ll worry that my phone is going to ring, telling me that he can’t cope again, that we’re back at square one. I’ll remind them that this is to be expected, we go through this every year and by now should know it will happen inevitably. I’ll pray that his team has a Plan B in place since his aide has been cut by the county and the fantastic man who served him so well for two years moved back to his home state with his family; on to better things for them. I’ll try not to secretly be angry at him for leaving us at such a crucial time; I’ll remember that his family deserves better too, and are working toward that goal. I’ll wish he was still there though, that can’t be helped. I’ll hope that they have someone to assist when the need arises. Mostly, I hope his new teachers appreciate his “Spiffness”, and try to understand him. I also hope he makes new friends this year, for he so desperately needs a friend.

We all do.

I have great expectations for this school year. I’m looking forward to getting back into the swing of things. I think I’m ready.

I hope.

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