So, I'm officially the parent of a high school student as of yesterday.
Ain't that weird?
If you've been around here for a while, Busy Girl was in 3rd grade when I started around these parts.
I thought it'd be more of a dramatic event than it was, really.
It actually kind of snuck upon us, you know, one day you're all, "Hey, it's only July, I love summer, " and the next moment, you're all, "Omgwtfbbq, what day do they go back, again? Is it tomorrow?"
Since she took a class this summer (for credit, not remedial), and has been going to various sports training and practices at school, her insertion into high school has been kind of gradual, and the first day wasn't so dramatic.
The thing I hadn't really factored in to the whole "new experience" thing was my insertion into high school as a parent.
I am just as much of a freshman as she is.
There was a cookout at school the other night.
I met Busy Girl there after volleyball practice and, when I walked up to the group, I didn't know what to do with myself.
It was rather odd because: a. Busy Dad has taught there for 17 years, and b.I know many of the people.
Now, I've been the parent of a teenage girl long enough to know that I'm not supposed to acknowledge her unless I am giving her money or food, but I instinctively knew that walking around by myself would be just as offensive to her as speaking to her in front of people.
Yet? If I introduced myself to people, she'd accuse me of "acting weird".
It was all kind of moot as I didn't see other parents at all for a few minutes, anyway.
When I eventually caught up with someone I knew, I sat at the dinner table with her and some other people.
I quickly realized they were all veteran high school parents, with their own groups and I was teh nOOb.
It was weird hearing people I know from the grade school context (they already had high schoolers) talking about, "So many new people" and I was one of them!
No one was unkind or anything, I was just the freshman at the upper classman table and I didn't even realize it.
Like Busy Girl with her classmates, I've been with the same group of parents for the past nine years, and now the dynamics are different.
I wasn't expecting that part, and we have to adjust our social groups a little.
The flip side is that there's a whole new group of people to observe, and my, what a variety of people there are.
But, I've done high school once already, I'll find my way.
If you give me trouble, I'll just tell you to sit down and shut up since, after all, I was the class president junior year.
This is Busy Girl's time, and so far, so good.
She's loving it and it's "so much better" than grade school.
Just wait until she realizes it's not all brunch, tours and 15 minute classes.
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Did you wear the right outfit? Was your makeup "just so"? Those are the important things about freshman parents, you know.
My first child just started Kindergarten and I will be 40 next month. it amazed me at orientation how young the mothers were...I felt so old...I was lucky that a former employee of mine from the daycare has a kindergartener too and she is older than me. But the 5 year old is her baby, her oldest is in 8th grade.
I could tell she felt a little out of place with all the young chicks though......we teamed up quickly.
Wow. You just gave me flashbacks to my first Freshman Parent's Night four years ago, when everyone cruelly stared at me and one woman said, "What is she, TWELVE?!" as I left a classroom. Good times.
Fortunately, they've gotten used to me now. You'll be the belle of the ball there in no time!
Dude, enjoy it! It's been a long time since I've been in your shoes. Have a blast! :)
Fun times ahead my friend! And be glad Busy Girl is in sports. The cheer/dance stuff was too much drama. (Oh you mean I've said that before? Can you say bitter?)
My junior registers tomorrow; we start after Labor Day around here. I have so much to do before then! oh, yeah, that's because I'm a teacher, and I have to get my classroom all set and my other kid moved into her college apt.
I feel your pain! My daughter's starting her new school as a freshman next week. Without my circle of parents that I've relied on over the last nine years to keep me informed, suddenly I have to be the one to keep track of all the parenting stuff. I hate that "new" feeling when you walk into a room of people who already know each other. You just KNOW they're forming instant opinions of you based on what you're wearing, or how you're acting.
Good luck with freshman year. Maybe we'll meet each other one of these days if our daughters play each other in basketball.
"Just wait until she realizes it's not all brunch, tours and 15 minute classes. "
information that would have been ideal when i was 14...hmm, that may be where I went wrong.
My oldest heads away to COLLEGE..4 hours away, in 2 weeks, and my middle guy becomes a hs'er..help.
I have two girls ages 4 and 2, I am dreading when they enter high school. Oh the joys of fights over boys and clothes.
I was on the receiving end of a perverse version of this last year. My son was an incoming Freshman at the school where I teach Freshman English. So, the parents that had snubbed me in previous years would all of a sudden spend extreme lengths of time in my class during Parent-Teacher conferences and talking to me when our paths crossed outside of class as if we had been best chums all along. Now, that I had a direct impact on their child's GPA all of a sudden I was ushered into "the circle" that had snubbed our family before. The lack of sincerity was not lost on me...
Once again, I'm SO with you.