My son started school on Tuesday and he was totally nervous about the prospect. He's in the 4th grade and where we are, this means a new school. A much bigger school too! He didn't want to go. We go through this every year because I guess he's worried there won't be any friends in his new class. But as sweet as my son can be, he can also be a real pain in the ass too. Embarrassing!

We went to the school Monday evening because that's when they post the class lists. We got the opportunity to meet his teacher too. She seemed real nice, but Nick wouldn't talk to her. And then when he did, all he would say is that he hates school, all things associated with it. I was mortified because she was so sweet and he wasn't. I wanted to hide inside one of the desks because I could see that she had no idea what to say to him. She finally just patted him on the arm and said, 'well, we'll work on that.' Then she said she had to leave. I think he frightened her away.

When it came time for actual school to start, he was really upset. He didn't want to walk in alone, so I went with him. That's understandable. Most parents did the same thing. Although, when I was at that school (we went to the same one) I don't remember any parents ever coming with us. They just sent us off on the bus and that was that. Times have changed now. My son has never even ridden the bus before because it's expensive! It used to be free, but not anymore.

But once we got into the school, we stood around for a bit because it was recess time. Then he saw one of his friends and promptly told me to leave now. He didn't need me anymore. And I barely got a goodbye before he ran off. His clingyness is fickle!

When I went to pick him up, I was waiting by the main exit. This is a lot different than his old school because there was no actual exit. It was just an open campus and a free for all. So it was a little overwhelming to have this parade of kids walking down this path to freedom. I was afraid I'd miss him. And when the crowd cleared out, he was no where to be found. I thought maybe I did miss him. What if he walked right past me?

So I walked up into the school and went to his classroom. It was empty. So I came back out again and looked at all the kids milling around in front of the office. None of them were him. Did he run off and ditch school? He's only 9! But with him, one never knows for sure. I was getting a bit worried. School had been out for almost ten minutes and he was still nowhere. Everyone was leaving.

I walked down the sidewalk further and I just happened to look over to my right behind a big white chain fence where the buses were. There was my son getting on a bus! I already mentioned that he doesn't ride the bus. Never has. And he didn't have a bus ticket either. Not to mention he had no idea where that particular bus was even going!

I yelled out his name and he stopped on the bus steps, then came over to me. I asked him what the hell he was doing and he said he didn't know. He just followed the other kids to the bus area and didn't know what to do next. And I'm thinking to myself, 'so you just decided to get on a random bus???' Where is the sense in that? I wondered if his teacher even knew he didn't ride the bus. Again he said he didn't know. He doesn't know much of anything when you ask him, even when I'm sure he really does. He just doesn't want to tell me.

But of course now that I'd found him, I had no idea how to get him. He was behind a locked gate and everyone was leaving. I kept telling him to go around the way he came, but he said he didn't remember how to do that. I was going to try and figure it out myself, but luckily a stray teacher saw us talking and opened the gate for us. But what would have happened if he'd gotten on a bus to God knows where? They were just going to let him ride it, even without a ticket! They must have assumed since it was the first day of school, he forgot the ticket or something. I didn't like that.

When we got home though, he said he school wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. I knew it wouldn't be! He always worries for nothing. And yesterday we went shopping for extra school supplies because they gave him a big list of stuff he needs. That made him really happy. Do you know what his favorite store is? You won't believe this. But it's Staples! He's obsessed with pencils and calculators and special pens. What a strange kid, huh? But shopping for school stuff excited him to no end and he spent two hours last night organizing everything in his new binder.

It was really cute. And it's moments like that when I seem to forget all the other crap he does that makes me want to hide or pull my hair out...