Raising Bliss

I started this post in the middle of September and for a litany of reasons I never completed it. Take Two.


Busted foot, braces, beginning middle school and living with a body that's maturing faster than her newly turned 11 year old self can fathom.


My Olivia has a lot going on.


To say the expectations of her teachers is incredibly high is an understatement.


I believe her parents expectations are even higher. 


Liv started 6th grade this year and the transition feels as if she went from womb to college. 


The homework load coupled with just how much Olivia has comprehended (or not) during the school day has left me with my head in my hands many nights this fall. Eric is right there with me. Sadly, so is Liv at times.


Drowning...


The good: 

• We are not alone. Have yet to meet a 6th grade parent at her school who feels different from us (thankfully Bliss is not totally asleep at the wheel). 
• The principal and teachers are accessible and care (I just wish they'd turn off the fire hose).
• Liv is learning a lot about organization (I guess this can be one of my strong suits when applied, who knew?)
• Eric thanks me each bedtime for managing it all so well (worth the price of admission alone).

The bad:

• I am a doer- love to cross stuff off the to-do list and move on (when you're managing your home, business, and going back to middle school some 30 years later your to-do list never ends).
• I am vocal.  So is Eric. When we're frustrated with Liv, the system, and exhausted from day's end the kid feels it (we are working on this as we do not need her self esteem to suffer in middle school because of her uptight parents).

But Math, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Spanish are probably not the toughest part of middle school for Liv thus far. Because there are girlfriends. And that can often mean drama. 


My girls are in a small school which translates to 8 girls in each grade. Slim pickings. Three remains a crowd if you were still wondering. Tween friendships can still be brutal. Hormones still rage. Thankfully the girls she hangs out with are dear but that does not mean there is not drama. Or on occasion a glimpse of a mean girl. God help us. 


Thankfully my daughter is in as much of a "bubble" as she can be in terms of a secure, safe school setting. The kids she is surrounded by, the caliber of the teachers, the enrichment and events that are brought to the school are solid.

But for me middle school is just as crappy the second time around.  I best get a move on. Tonight's homework (pictured below) awaits.