Where They Belong

Jared and I are thinking this is going to be a good year. It feels like we finally found the right fit for each of our girls in three different schools - each where she belongs.

Fourth grade was painful and rough last year for Brita, and as a result, for the mom and dad too. I can think of only one good thing that came out of last year's experience, and it's a big thing. Brita learned that she can stick it out through hard times and figure out how to make things work. I admit that I marched into the principal's office a couple times and each time she let me know that we could change Brita's class if that's what Jared, Brita and I wanted to do. Of course, Brita ALWAYS wanted to change, but each time the three of us concluded that sticking it out was the right thing to do. In the moment, it was gut wrenching and nerve shattering, but now we can all look back and be grateful it's all over. Brita feels a huge sense of accomplishment and she has gained an increased awareness of her own capabilities. Those two things are worth a year of struggle.

This year Brita is going to what Jared and I affectionately refer to as "nerd school." She was so nervous in the weeks leading up to the first day and the first morning as I was driving her to school I thought she was going to have a mini breakdown, but she knew she could do it. I've been so impressed by her approach to this new situation. She's had an attitude I haven't seen in her before when it comes to something so hard and it's paying off. She received her first invitation from a friend to play the other night and after seeing the two of them together, Jared and I knew those two little girls were built from the same mold for sure. In her new school she's around other kids who speak her same language and use her same vocabulary. They stuff leaves inside their glasses at recess and play all kinds of intellectually stimulating games that the kids at her other school wouldn't have played for more than 30 seconds. She is in a situation where she doesn't feel like the odd man out all the time. She seems to feel a new kind of freedom and okay-ness with herself that I haven't seen in her since we moved here two years ago. It appears that she's right where she belongs and I love that for her.

Leah is one of the most unusual children I have ever known. It seems to me that Leah would be right where she belongs no matter the situation or circumstance. She has amazing confidence in herself (that I wish I had for myself a lot of times!) and she doesn't ever feel pressured to deviate from who she knows she is. She expresses herself in the most endearing ways - through her style, through her confident conversations, and just simply through the way she interacts with the world. It's no surprise to us that she loves her new fourth grade teacher, she looks forward to seeing her friends everyday, and she feels confident that she will succeed. She intuitively knows how to make things work in her favor. Succeed, she will.

As for Meg, she is loving her first couple weeks of pre-school. She loves following the rules of her classroom and doing just what the teacher asks her to do. She was so excited to be the teacher's helper yesterday, but it made her so tired holding the door for TEN students to go out to recess. So she had to get a big drink to cool off afterward. She can't wait to pull out all the surprises from her backpack each day when she gets home and show them off to the family. She puts each item behind her back, then pulls it out and yells "Surprise!" She repeats the process four times - once for each member of the family. And each of us is equally excited to see the reading log or parent information sheet she proudly displays along with her art project for the day.

I love knowing that my kids are in situations where they can thrive and be blessed with positive experiences. I love the feeling of peace that brings into my heart and to our entire family...because when one thing is out of whack the whole family feels and lives that. But I also know that tremendous growth takes place in the refiner's fire. So when things get tough, I try to see it for what it is and I try to accept it by allowing myself and my kids the opportunity to welcome growth into our lives. Without a year of struggle last year, we may not have felt compelled to search for a better alternative. And I realize that this year we are all reaping the benefits of the year that has now past. And for now, all are where they belong and we're all loving it.