Transitions are difficult for Isaac.
The Falls Aquatic Center closed yesterday. He swam there every evening during the summer. Occasionally he would go there in the afternoon and evening as he realized the end of the summer was near. All of the lifeguards know his name. Isaac called them all "goofballs" as often as he could. Most of them replied, "You're a goofball!" which made him laugh and smile, and those interactions made him feel like he was part of a community. He was important and included. That experience is over now, and it's very sad for my 18-year-old boy.
School started today. Tomorrow morning he goes to the dentist and can't ride the bus to school. Saturday his twin brother, Noah, moves into a residence hall room 90 minutes away.
A few days ago Isaac looked at my planner and screamed and cried and bargained for summer never to end. I snuggled him and kissed him and folded my hands around his chest, and I helped him rock back and forth while I said, "It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay. It's hard when things change, isn't it?"
He tossed his sandals downstairs in a fit of rage.
He wrote "no" next to "last day of pool."
He crossed off "first day of school" on my planner.
He crossed off "school starts!" on the wall calendar.
He screamed, "No last day!"
He hit the couch and hit his knee, and then he said "5-4-3-2-1, May!"
"Do you wish it were May right now?" I asked.
"Yes," he said, through a stream of tears.
He wants it to be May because the pool will reopen during that month.
But mostly he wants it to be June 1, 2020 (last day of school) so the pool will be open and school will be over. He loves school and his teacher, but it doesn't matter. He wants to fast forward time.
"No device!" he shouted.
After he went to bed, he must have had second thoughts. He opened his bedroom door, walked out to the living room, and plugged his device into the charger so that he would be able to do his job on the first day of school.
This morning I sat beside him on the couch and wrapped my arms around him. He looked nervous and rigid. I asked if he felt okay. I asked if he wanted to stay home.
"I love my goofball," he said, looking my way for a split second.
He wanted me to reassure him time and time again that we would get into the white car and pick up Henry after school. I told him yes, we will. Yes. Yes. Don't worry. White car. Yes, we will pick up Henry. Then I recited what I typically say when he gets home and what he typically does and that seemed to calm him for a while.
I made him breakfast and told him to pack his lunch. "No lunch," he said, but he did it anyway.
I took a picture of him holding a sign. It was the only picture I snapped before the bus arrived. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.
He said he wouldn't be the only one.
When Isaac got home after school, he ran as fast as his legs could carry him inside, he tossed his backpack on the couch, he raced to the basement to see if I had done laundry in his absence, and then he ran outside to pick up Henry. His feet barely touched the ground.
He said he had a good day. He looked happy and relieved.
"Great first day. Isaac jumped into all the familiar routines," the teacher had written in Isaac's communication book.
Henry
Henry had to report to school this morning at 9:30, which was lucky for him because he couldn't get to sleep last night until 2:00. He only had a few hours of shut eye.
He's a freshman this year, but in our school district he has classes in the junior high building, as high school is grades 10-12. Nothing is new for Henry this year except a few teachers and a different locker partner.
Henry said the strangest thing is that there weren't any older kids at the school to look out for. To his surprise, he is now one of the older kids.
He's going to be busy with US History, Spanish I, Physical Science, English, Algebra I, Chorus, Band, PE, and occasionally a study hall. He knows a few people in his lunch shift, which is perfect.
I asked if he had any homework and he said, "We don't do any work the first day of school!"
Henry is gearing up for a great year!