First Day of School Eve

So my first post actually has very little sports in it, but that's because at the Philips house, my wife and I are celebrating.  Tomorrow is, for three of our four girls, the First Day of School.  The capitalization is no mistake - we treat it as a full-fledged holiday.  While we love our children deeply, they've been home for a while now, and, since they love school anyway (which they did NOT get from me), the time to send them back is at long last here.  A sixth grader, a third grader and yes, a kindergartener, all get going tomorrow.  It's not Christmas, but you get it.

The fun of First Day of School Eve actually began just after dinner during a really big thunderstorm that rolled over Columbia.  Lightning struck in our yard, close enough to the house that it blew a couple of circuits, but thankfully we didn't lose power.  The strike produced a huge white spark inside the house that pretty much freaked us all out.  With the girls already keyed up about the First Day of School, and with the storm already producing some fireworks, the level hit a big high.  Lots of parental reassurances that the worst had passed soon followed, and luckily the parents were right!

Like Christmas Eve, there is huge anticipation in our house.  The girls went to bed very excited about new grades and old friends.  Hopefully they'll sleep, especially now that the storm has passed and order's been restored.  I just finished watching the Braves beat Washington on Jason Heyward's game-winning single.  My wife is mixing some late night work with a hand of solitaire on her computer.  She's losing by the way.

Our "celebration" isn't going to leave us hungover, but that's OK.  For one thing, the alarm is on for the first time in months.  Most importantly, you realize how far you've come in life when you hit this point in the calendar each year.  The kids don't.  So Happy First  Day of School to everybody.  You've made it through another year of growing up.  That's worth celebrating.