It is the eve before a big day here at Casa Baughman. The lunch has been packed in the new owl lunchbag and is currently nesting in the refrigerator. The school supplies have been purchased and preloaded into the car because we need all the help we can get in that whole transition period in the morning. The outfit has been selected and laid out perfectly…this one didn’t require too much effort, the whole uniform thing and all. Now all that is left is to go to bed, close those little eyes and wait. Wait for the magical grade fairies to come and sprinkle 3rd grade shimmer all over Mattie Belle, making her feel one year older and smarter.
The special first day of school cereal has been purchased and sat out on the table. This year it’s Hershey’s Cookies and Cream, probably not exactly brain food, but when we are celebrating something around here, we like to do it up with sugar. And the special “celebrating” plate and cup has been set at her spot…waiting.
I remember 3rd grade very well. It’s a big year and I’m going to be honest, part of me is a little nervous for the girl as she is about to embark on it. A lot happens in 3rd grade. Things like multiplication and division and you are no longer considered one of the little kids anymore. You aren’t really one of the big kids either, but a lot more is expected out of you now. Third grade is also when, for me, I just really sort of woke up to the world around me. The summer, right before school started, my mom was in a terrible car accident. I remember for the very first time, realizing just how small my mother really was, how fragile even adults can be. And I didn’t like it. I had rather enjoyed thinking before that adults can handle anything and nothing bad ever happens to my adults.
The first days of my 3rd grade year were spent worrying that my mom was going to be okay. I knew she was alive, but okay that was another question. I feared for her and her healing, but I also became incredibly protective of her. I didn’t want my friends to see her or really even to ask about her, I didn’t want them to think she looked ugly or scary (she did). And I remember not really wanting to leave her alone because now it seemed so much worse to be alone when you also had a bandaged up forehead and an eye that wouldn’t open.
I really hope Mattie’s 3rd grade year doesn’t parallel anything like that, for her sake and my own.
But it was a big year. And I imagine that it will be for my girl, as well. She’s in a new class, with a new teacher. Old friends have left for various reasons and we aren’t quite sure who will be there tomorrow morning.
But the lunch is packed and the sugary cereal is set out….we’re as ready as we’re every gonna be.
(on a side note, my mother healed up quite nicely after a few surgeries and lots of prayer and a miracle or two. She looks anything but scary now, and is actually quite lovely.)
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In completely unrelated news, but equally world changing….we have a new addition here to the family. To be honest, i have no idea what I was thinking when I agreed to this and even had a real stare down with my new child today, asking her just what we had gotten ourselves into. She hasn’t yet figured out which toys are hers and which belong to her new siblings. Normally, they all have to share, but she has a tendency to play with the toys using her mouth and teeth, so we have decided that for hygiene reasons, she shall get her own. Our new addition also isn’t used to all the crazy that is constantly occurring in our home and it seems to be throwing her off a little bit, causing her to create her own crazy. I am now the mother of a 10-year-old (going on 77) an 8-year-old, a 5-year-old, an 18 month old and my newest little girl, the 7 month old. My oldest and youngest are of the canine persuasion.
Elphie was originally adopted by our Chelsea, but do to the life and times of a twenty-something, it became clear that Elphie was going to need a new home. I volunteered our home for 2 reasons – a) because I couldn’t think of anyone else and 2) I hated to think of Chels giving up her precious little pup to strangers and never seeing her again. So it only seemed right that we would take her, besides Mattie has been begging for a puppy forever and this seemed way better than starting from scratch with a teeny one. And what’s one more dog, right?
I was a little surprised that Brandon was so eager for us to take this little pup, but now that I think about it, I completely get why he said yes so quickly. This is usually about the time that I start thinking how I’d like another baby, once my actual baby starts getting less baby-like. I think he is thinking that if I am at my wit’s end with trying to handle the children I have, my elderly dog and a new puppy…it will be like a vaccination for baby fever. He’s smart that Brandon.
Chelsea left this morning and Mattie has taken over her job. She takes it very seriously and between you and me, she’s a little bit of a helicopter parent. She follows that puppy around like she’s the puppy! I think Mattie and Elphie will both be relieved that school is starting in the morning because they are both exhausted. I expect to be left with a long list of instructions from my daughter about the care and keeping of her new pet tomorrow when I drop her off at school. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if she didn’t insist on Elphie riding with us to school in the morning.
See, big things already happening in the 3rd grade year, the year she got her first puppy that ate her siblings favorite toys. I think its going to be life changing.
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And one last little thing to share.
A check came in the mail yesterday.
A check from Allstate for $78.56. We do not have Allstate insurance, this was instead a property loss reimbursement check on behalf of the boy who hit us in South Carolina’s insurance. And what sort of property were we being reimbursed for? Why Legos of course! Turns out that it never hurts to ask for things, and when I told the adjuster that Reese’s birthday Legos went all over the place when we were hit and I still haven’t been able to get them all out of the nooks and crannies, a check was cut to cover his “loss”. I should have also mentioned that all 7 of my daughters’ American Girl dolls had been tragically thrown out the window onto the interstate. And they, too, needed to be replaced. That would have been a complete lie, but it sure would have been tempting. It’s good to know that even your toys are in good hands with Allstate.
Okay, that’s all for now as we have a big day tomorrow. Goodnight!
Mama Tried 
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