Orienting to a New Life

This has been a busy time for all moms sending children back to school or recommencing the homeschool calendar. As for me, things have been a bit slow around the blog this week as I've been busy being "Oriented" to the life of "High School Mom".

Yes, Eric had his own Orientation last week and in approximately forty minutes will have successfully completed his first week as a high school freshman. His orientation included a prayer service, scholastic and administrative overviews, countless syllabi and logistical details such as the subtleties of combination locks and how to get from one end of campus to another in under four minutes and 59 seconds. He appears to have survived, although my interactions with him this week have been way too limited for a mom's preference.

My own Orientation week continues. On Tuesday, after getting both kids off to the first "real" day of school, I met one of my best buddies for at the gym for an hour of "treadmill therapy". I've sworn for years that my husband owes my friend Mara a lot of cash for keeping me out of psychiatric counseling. Mara has been my friend through breastfeeding, preschool, elementary education and now beyond. Our friendship has been largely lived out during triweekly trips to the gym. She helped me again on Tuesday morning to recommit to my school year exercise routine, which is a critical part of my Mom suit of armor for dealing with life's many ups and downs.

On Wednesday morning, Orientation continued for Mom. My friend Martha, an alumna of my son's new high school, informed me that the two of us had a 9 am appointment with Brother Philip, the newly installed principal of Eric's high school. Martha had been a student of his during a time when he had previously been affiliated with the school. Now that he's back, she couldn't wait to see him again and decided to bring me along for the meeting. During a calming 45 minute "get to know you" chat, I felt my nerves begin to calm as I met this seasoned educator who clearly articulated his priorities for Catholic education. His values lined up so consistently with my hopes for my son's high school experience that I soon felt at ease. I also told Brother Philip that I was happy to be in the Prinicipal's Office for some reason aside from being summoned there for an "unfortunate incident".

Thursday's Mom Orientation activities were spread throughout the day. In the morning, I went on a field trip with my "Naughty Knitters" friends to a local yarn store. You may wonder why that's part of the Orientation, but just as lunch period is crucial to the experience of a high schooler, time with friends and personal hobbies are critical to any Mom's sanity. As much as I was missing my boys, it was so wonderful to have a morning of "girl time" to be spent how I wanted to spend it. I set my "to do" lists aside and luxuriated in time spent with special ladies.

Last night, Orientation hit full force with the Football Banquet, where I actually mustered up the courage to meet my son's football coach in person. No surprise, this man who spends more hours a day with my son (when he's actually awake) than I do is a great guy...and he didn't even make me do any pushups!

I headed straight from the Football Banquet to Freshman Parent Orientation - the official one! Two hours of meetings ensued: information system overviews, discussions on campus ministry and service education, academic overviews and a lovely talk by my now friend Brother Philip. One of my favorite speakers of the night was the new Dean of Students, who explained his philosophy for dealing with student infractions. His hope in working with student issues is to "help the student and his family to try to find a solution that will help the student grow, help him to make right decisions and good choices in the future." Hey, that's what I want for my son too - looks like we're on the same page! In my excitement, I limited myself to only signing my name on two volunteer sheets: Campus Ministry and Service Education. Both moderators seemed wonderful - I think I could learn a lot about being a High School Mom by helping out with these areas at the school.

Today, I attended a welcome meeting for the "Guild", the Moms who seem to be the driving force behind much what goes on at High School. I'm know I'm not cut out for much of the fundraising type of work, but it was so great to meet these wonderful women who are brimming with enthusiasm for our school. It was infectious!

Orientation continues this weekend with our first football scrimmage, where I'll learn that Freshman parents should cheer on the team but not expect to see much playing time for their Freshman sons.

A theme of last night's meetings was being involved in the school as a family, both in physical presence and in an emotional investment in our children's education. I'm still learning, taking lots of notes, and trying not to worry too much, but I think the year's off to a great start!