Goodbye Lincoln, Hello Lawton

Don't let the sign fool you!  While Warren tried to play it cool with this move to middle school, it was certainly met with his share of tears.  As he said "I've been at Lincoln since Kindergarten."  And though he left the walls of Lincoln, he's moved to the new walls of Lawton, with most of the same friends...which is a huge blessing.  He's made a great group of close friends.

To prepare for the move to middle school, we decided this would be a summer of growing up....he learned to do his own laundry, on his own time.  He learned to make his own lunches and how to use the microwave.  He even went to his first sleepover.

As I drove around before dropping Warren off, I went over a million different things I felt he needed to know for his first sleepover.  What to do if he couldn't fall asleep.  What to do if he woke up before everyone else.  What to do if he got homesick.  What to do if he wet the bed.  And when we pulled into Lincoln's driveway, Warren said "Mom, can you quickly give me a kiss out here before we go inside?"  And, at first, I was sad.  Sad that my boy was at the age where it wasn't cool to give your mom a kiss or hug.  But, I decided to look at it from a different perspective.  Instead of being sad, I decided to be happy that, while it may not be cool anymore, my boy still wants a hug and a kiss from me!

Now that school is in full swing, we couldn't be more excited for Warren and this new chapter.  While the week before school started was filled with lots of anxiety about getting to classes on time, middle school seems to suit him well!  He's playing percussion (with Lincoln) and enjoys hanging out with his friends in the band room before school.  (Brings back such great memories for Chris and me.)  He was also selected for a leadership class, that he has 8th period....and really loves.

Meanwhile, we're all learning how to deal with "middle school meanies."  I had to check Warren out early one day last week for a doctor's appointment to have a wart removed.  The next day, after freezing the wart, it had become much, much larger.  Before school the next day, Warren was talking with a group of "friends" when he accidentally spit on one of the boys while talking.  That boy made a huge deal out of it, exaggerating his wipe and squealing "Ewww, that's so gross!  Great, now I'm gonna catch your wart!  Ewwww!  That's so gross, Warren!"  While my heart broke for him, I couldn't have been more proud of how he handled the situation.  He apologized to the boy for spitting, saying "I'm sorry.  I can't really help that when I talk."  Then he simply said "That's not really how it works.  You can't catch a wart from my spit."  He could have easily "fired something" back to the mean boy, but he didn't.  Instead, he took the high road.  And the next day, he went and found some new friends to sit with.  You really do find out who your real friends are!

So, while middle school is filled with some tough "character building" times...it's also filled with lots of fun, new experiences, like Cotillion.  As Warren started Cotillion this year, Chris and I "braved" the first carpool duty!  And, I just need to give huge props to all the girl moms out there!  While Chris worked with teaching Warren how to tie a tie, these girl moms got to work their way through experiencing panty hose!  And, based on the nervous chatter in the car, I can only imagine what that might've been like.

I'm sure learning to tie ties isn't nearly as exciting as panty hose.  Definitely not as much hilarious conversation....As the girls got in the car, Paige lifted up her skirt to fix her panty hose.  With that, Marin says "....and that's why you need Cotillion!"  That, just after Paige says "Ugh!  Panty hose are so hot!  And they scrunch up!"  To which Marin responds with "Ya, they scrunch up somewhere!"  All this as I look back to see Harper rolling his eyes, cracking up!

Not having navigated this road before, we weren't sure what to expect with middle school.  But I can tell you, we have been pleasantly surprised.  Granted, it's just the third week of school, but already, we have seen a much more confident, relaxed 11-year old.  We've watched some pretty great friends learn to be awkward together.  We're learning to step back and let Warren handle things.  We're learning to trust that we've built a good foundation and laid the groundwork so he's able to handle the tough situations without us....but that he still knows he can come to us at any time!  But most of all, we're learning to enjoy the ride!  Enjoy the moment!