Coach and I had a lot, and I mean A LOT, of discussion before he decided to trade in the orange and blue for some purple. We knew there would be changes. And most of these are way more important than which color you wear on Friday nights. Yes...there are more important things. This would be a major transition for all of us, especially the boys.
Jaxon, our younger one, is pretty outgoing and adjusts to things relatively easily. Devin, however, is more reserved. I worried about how changing schools would effect him most. He was much more established at Woodland. His friends are there. But, I knew that kids change schools all the time, and they survive. I hoped Devin would too. He had been supportive of his dad's decision thoughout the process. So, I knew he had a good attitude about it. Or so I thought.
I picked him up after the first day, and he announced that he didn't think he was going to like Ranburne. Then he proceeded to tell me all the reasons why. He was mostly worried about being tardy to class. At Ranburne, the 5th grade in located in the high school building. Devin had heard talk about the tardy bells and was letting it make him nervous. I tried to explain to him that the teachers realized they were 5th graders and that everyone would help him know where to go. I encouraged him to give it some time. I acknowledged that I knew it was tough, but I urged him to try to be positive and make the most out of it.
I was feeling pretty good about my parenting skills when Coach made it in from practice. We began to discuss how our days had gone. Then he told me about seeing Devin during the day. His schedule has him going from the elementary school to the high school during the high school break time. He told me that while he was walking by, he saw Devin at break. He was standing all by himself. Completely alone.
My heart broke. First, because I could see my precious baby standing there alone, feeling out of place and uncertain. Like any parent, I hate to think about things being hard on my boys. And, I knew there was nothing in the world I could do about it. I can't drive to the school during break and stand with him. I can't make friends for him. I felt kinda useless. And, to make matters worse, I saw the hurt on Coach's face as he struggled with it. Seeing Devin that day made him question if he'd made a selfish decision. He wondered if he'd made things hard on the boys for no reason. So, heart-broken mom had to put on her good wife hat and reassure him that Devin would be fine.
And by Friday, I believed that I'd told him the truth. Devin got in the car, smiling and saying that everyone in his class finally knows who he is. Later that night, at our Jamboree game, one of the girls in his class came over to talk to us. She said she'd met Devin at school, but she wasn't surprised if he didn't remember her name since he'd been too busy "...running from all the girls who are chasing him. Literally. Chasing him."
Yep...I think he's going to be alright.
We all are. They say that different isn't always better, but better is always different. So, while we all have a little adjustment to make, we'll get there.
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