First Day of School

The Summer Missionary Tour wrapped up a bit earlier than expected, due to a hurricane on the East Coast. I was happy to have a few extra days before flying out for our 25th Anniversary trip. Because our Anniversary is on August 13th, we would miss the first day of school for the little kids. I had already prepped the school supplies and made a schedule for the kids to follow. I did not have the homeschool curriculum prepped.

We knew that Charity would be leaving the band by the end of the year, and we took the opportunity to discuss what that would mean for Cecilia and MJ. We wanted to wait until after the missionary tour to have a better feel for the future of the band. What would the band look like without Charity on drums? What were Cecilia and MJ’s priorities and desires? After a lengthy discussion of benefits and struggles of the band, MJ declared “I want to go to school. I know it’s going to be hard, but it’s gonna be hard either way, I want to know if I can do it!” School has always been difficult for MJ, and maintaining his schoolwork while traveling was a constant struggle. He was 14, and could enter high school as a Freshman this year if we wanted.

We took some time for prayer and to evaluate logistics of what attending school would look like. Michael could envision a show where he traveled solo during the school year and concentrated on the missionary program in the summer. It seemed like the time was right for a transition. There was a lengthy discussion on whether to jump into high school or to allow MJ to take a year in 8th grade to adapt the a school routine. We had less than 48 hours to make a decision, meet with school officials, and get transcripts, physicals, an IEP, and set up class schedules. Ultimately, we decided on high school.

Neither Cecilia, MJ, Michael or I had ever set foot into the high school before. (Michael and I grew up in the neighboring school district). The school was super accommodating and reassuring. The principal gave us a tour, then it was all hands on deck to get Cecilia and MJ set up before Michael and I left town. We asked them to take a picture of the first day. The this is what we got:

We were in another country while our 14 and 16 year old kids attended their first day of public school. Upon report, “It went fine,” which is maybe the most stereotypical high school thing to say. Cecilia made a pretty seamless transition. She is both outgoing and academic. For MJ, there was definitely a learning curve. I joked that the principal had me on speed dial. After about 2 weeks, MJ settled into a routine and was managing his schedule and school work independently.