Doing the School Daze Dance

Christa, my caboose kiddo, arrived on the scene when my other children were 17 , 14 and 12.

The year my daughter Amy graduated from high school, Christa started kindergarten.

And so, my husband and I began the School Daze Dance again.

Twelve more years of homework and report cards and parent-teacher conferences.

Part of me wanted to request a special exemption. Surely all my prior experience qualified me for a "bye" on all this the fourth time around.

Only the fourth time for me was the first time for Christa.

Christa got her report card this week. As her dad and I sat down with her to look it over, I remembered doing the same thing with her older brother Josh and sisters, Katie Beth and Amy. We always made sure we looked at each child's report card privately. Each child's grades were their grades--and their concern. Nobody else's. We tried to keep academic competition between our kiddos to a minimum. We wanted our children to focus on doing well rather than focusing on besting their brother or sister.

While Christa is our fourth child, she functions like an only child, thanks to the 12 year gap between her and her closest sibling. So, there's no need to worry about keeping things private. We like Christa to let Josh and Katie Beth and Amy know how she's doing in school. It keeps them connected--and there's no chance of sibling rivalry!

And yes, Rob and I visited Christa's teacher this week for our 15 minute parent-teacher conference, going over grades and hearing once again that Christa likes to chat just a bit too much in class.

Later that day, Christa and I celebrated her good report card by going to the movies. As I shared popcorn with my daughter, I thought about how many more years I'll be dancing the School Daze Dance. 10 more years. 40 more report cards (1 a quarter=4 a year). At least 1 parent-teacher conference a year=10 more parent-teacher conferences.

Such is the life of a repeater Mommy-Come-Lately®. And I'm not complaining--not really. Do I really want a bye on any part of Christa's life?

Nope.

I want to be there for all of it--the good report cards, the bad report cards--and every single one of those parent-teacher conferences!