What a week!

Ding!  Week 2 of school has flown by...and the verdict is in.  We are a nerd herd.  Well okay, we all already knew that.
Miss P is settling into kindergarten okay.  She still has moments of "enthusiasm", or just "not listening", but her intentions are good.
Miss D has found the green road & will hopefully stay on it.  At first, she needed a reminder the teacher ran the class and not her, *and I got the *I never knew she could be so stubborn, but she's so cute and we just love her* talk.
  E2 is well, himself.  His teacher seems to be handling him well.  He's bit a of a culture shock to her after having his two older brothers. 
 E1 has gone in headfirst.   He wants to do strings, choir, mathletics, safety patrol,...and is presenting his EL project this week.  There's a lot on that kids plate.  
And then there's our oldest. Ahhh.
As if seventh grade isn't hard enough, being the first year of passing periods, lockers, and sooo many teachers....Poor #1 fell in the shower earlier this week and cut all the way through his lower lip.  His stitches are right in that crack between the bottom of the chin and the start of the lip.  He's getting them out today.  With the stitches, his confidence wavered a bit.  He couldn't bear being on the bus in the morning, so softie parents we are, we drove him to school the rest of the week.  Yet somehow, by afternoon, everything was okay.  
By the end of the week, I heard snippets about the librarian, the lunch room, who he sits with in class.
He showed me what he was reading, even if it wasn't my favorite material.
He shared his concerns about being too well known, and organization, and getting places on time.
He also shared his take on his teachers, how nice they were, how they put him at ease.
This whole experience reinforced his trust in the adults in his life, at a time when a lot of kids are starting to wonder.
It also makes me wonder, how long do we have to enjoy this closeness?  Is it really possible to continue to be a parent and a friend to a teen?  I hope so.