first day of school 2014

It's de rigueur.

My sophomore, a little bereft without his older brother, mostly because he has been demoted from having a personal driver to taking the bus.

My big fifth grader, who made the transition up to the middle school today. The fact that I no longer have a child in the elementary school, after a 12-year run, is making me sadder than anything else this year. More even than sending one away to college, it is smacking me in the face with the fact that time is marching on.

We were missing one this year, of course, and he still hasn't started classes. He is currently away on a pre-orientation backpacking trip with a small group of freshmen; he returns tomorrow, and classes start next week. I doubt I will get a "first day of school" picture out of him, but I do have a "moving in day" picture that will have to suffice.