Josh and Becca Thrap and Family

The day has come at last. ALL of my babies have gone off to school. It is an especially momentous occasion in all of our lives because as Elena is starting Kindergarten, Jacob is moving on to Middle School, and I now have the house and the day all to myself. Jacob will now have to take the bus, but it stops right at the school in our backyard so he can still walk with the other kids in the morning. He will be continuing with Band (percussion), and will learn some French and Spanish! Elise will be in 4th grade and she got “the nicest teacher!,” so she’s been told. Cameron is in 3rd, and for the first time since Kindergarten he has some of his best little friends in his class. And Elena spotted several toys at “Meet the Teacher Night” that she is just dying to play with! And today she will eat her first school lunch. Cheese Pizza!

See our meager little garden and our sprawling “pumpcchini?”
I know many of you have been asking what I’ll be doing now that I have all day to myself. So I will tell you that I am not rushing into anything. I’m going to just enjoy it for the first few days, maybe run some errands alone or have lunch with Josh. Then, probably some time next week, I plan to start catching up on the last four years of house cleaning, organization, and repairs that have eluded me. Of course there will always be the laundry and chores, and a little time on the computer. And eventually I hope to get to work on some bigger projects that I’ve been neglecting, like my scrapbooking! Also, I’ve promised some friends that once I’m used to having some time for myself I will try to start reading again, starting with >gasp< the Twilight series. Of course afternoons and evenings will still be full of helping kids with homework and running to and fro for dance and soccer and scouts etc. And I think I’ll really enjoy the holiday breaks with the kids and then in January my sister Sarah is expecting her first little one so perhaps I’ll get to spend some time with “Baby Gaga.” Eventually I may consider going back to school, volunteering, or getting a part-time job, but for right now, I’m kinda treating this as like my accumulated vacation hours from the non-stop job I’ve been working for the last 12 years. And I think I may start walking…