First Day of School

Yesterday was Hayes' first day of school. It went off without a hitch! Hard to believe, I know. Here are some pix of the first day.

I didn't get much of a report from Hayes, but after two days of prodding, I did finally hear, "it's better than I could even have imagined!" I'd say that's a good sign.

Back to School

It's that time of year, when I think all people should be feeling the transition of school starting, summer ending and a hint that fall is just around the corner. We certainly are. 

Hayes will be at a new school this year. We hate to have left the school he was previously attending, but we just couldn't afford the tuition anymore. So Hayes will be in the public schools (a place where I left a little of my heart so many years ago) for second grade. 

We got a tour of the building today and were able to meet the principal and the assistant principal. I think it really made Hayes feel better. I know it made me feel good. He is of course excited about eating breakfast and lunch at school and about catching the bus. (I know, the things we cringe at now are so cool to our kids!) And the fact that they get to choose their specials on Friday is utterly cool. He is also excited that he may get to participate in some after school activities that we never had the money for last year. 

All in all I am feeling good about the switch. As long as Hayes can be convinced, we should be in good shape.

My Never List

Wet Dog or Wet Boy?

Just a note -- a wet boy can smell worse than a wet dog, especially when he forgets to use shampoo.

Thankfulness

I’m not much of a Reader’s Digest reader, but when I’m at the shore house without my usual reading material, I’ll pick up whatever’s available. And this article surprised me: How The New Science of Thank You Can Change Your Life. It was written by Deborah Norville & published in the October 2007 issue. (Yes, it was still on the coffee table this August!) You can read the entire article here.

Norville suggests that being consciously grateful each day had several benefits on the majority of participants in a recent study. They were generally:
• More optimistic
• More energetic
• More enthusiastic
• More determined
• More interested
• More joyful
• More likely to exercise
• More likely to have helped someone else
They also:
• Felt better about their lives
• Had fewer illnesses, and
• Got more sleep

Norville believes that we can all reap these benefits by simply taking the time to keep a gratitude journal. She suggests writing down three things every day for which you are thankful and then writing about why they made you feel grateful. Seems pretty simple. I might have to give it a try.