By this time tomorrow morning, I will be gearing up to head to school to listen to the Excellence In Attendance Awards and to cry like a baby when that noon bell rings signifying not only the start of summer vacation, but the start of my oldest's senior year in HS and my 'next in line's' freshman year. I realized this morning as I was mentally preparing myself for my oldest's three week college boarding adventure this summer (and wondering how I was going to keep it together so as not to embarrass him at drop off) that his venture into college next year will not be only a physical separation but an academic one as well for me. You see, the two of us are in perfect academic sync; he loves to share the details of his classes and we discuss his written essays and plans for projects and I love to listen and discuss things with him. We have a mutually beneficially relationship where he is totally invested in his academics, but he loves the process of working things through with me and he allows me to be involved in his choices. I would love to take credit for this fabulous approach but he came to this decision early on in lower school all by himself along with his desire to become an attorney and he never deviated from either plan over the years.
His brother, however, the all too soon-to-be freshman takes a completely different approach to school. Though quite the intellectual powerhouse, this son believes the whole 'tell mom about your academic day' thing is way over-rated, perhaps even preposterous. When my oldest and I are deep in discussion about an essay on Machiavelli or the merits of using one quote from Plato over another, my other son regards us with an eye roll and a smirk, often reminding me that we will definitely not be doing the same thing once he gets to high school.
Truth be known, I eagerly embrace the differences in all my children and I love the unique relationship I have with each. That said, not only will I mourn my academic relationship with my oldest when he is away at college, but I am a tad terrified of how I will be handling my other son throughout his high school years. I must admit though, what he lacks in sharing on the school front with me, he more than makes up for with his endless discussions about all things computer-related. He might not seek me out to discuss an essay, but he certainly comes to find me to tell me a joke or a story.
So, although the weather is certainly not befitting the last days of school before summer break, by tomorrow at noon the bell will have rung, my tears will have been shed and my children will be chattering on about the fact that they are now 'rising ___________ (fill in the appropriate grade).' Let the games begin! Hello, summer 2013.
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