The last of the freshmen in this family

Charlie started high school today. My youngest child, in high school. I know I'm supposed to say "I can't believe it," or "where has the time gone," but I can believe it and I've been there and experienced all the time. None of this is a surprise, nor is it difficult for me. Chalk that up to having been an "active" parent for the last 23 years. If you want to make all the big milestones seem like reasons to party and not cry, stretch out hands-on parenthood for two decades. Believe me, you get your fill!

He was scared and nervous last night, but bounded into my bedroom this morning and told me to get up. Registration was from 9-12 this morning, so we had plenty of time, but he wanted to get there earlier rather than later. That's good!

I am so impressed with this school Tilton School and I thank the universe for knowing that Charlie needed this environment. The freshmen class is small, 40 students, and they introduced the freshmen team of teachers. I really liked this aspect, because it is so nice to put a face to a name (not to mention that you can see if they are old, grouchy or bouncy and happy!) I am happy to report that this team looks ecstatic to be there and all seemed to be looking forward to the new year. It is a mixture of seasoned vets who have been there well over 10 years, sprinkled with a few brand new ones and some that have been there between 3-5. They have a program that they call FIRST, which stands for Foundation, Integrity, Respect, Service and Team. Tilton School ~ 9th Grade. The first thing we did this morning was meet with the director of the program, actually sat down with him and he answered all of our questions and made Charlie feel comfortable by telling him if he felt nervous and excited then he was in good company; that his own daughter who is a freshman this year, who grew up on the campus also felt the same way. I could see that this really meant something to Charlie, because he often feels that he feels differently from others.

While we were walking to the dorm where Charlie has a room (even though he is a day student, he has a room with a desk, bureau and closet where he can keep his belongings and hang out) the dorm parent was walking by and read our name tags and instantly introduced himself as the dorm parent and told Charlie to go on over to the dorm and make himself at home. No matter where we turned, there was a smiling face and a total willingness to engage us in conversation. We stopped by the library and the librarian was another wealth of information -- her husband co-directs the 9th and 10th grade programs and she has been in the library for 12 years.

After three consecutive sessions (parents of day students meeting, parents of freshmen meeting and parents of new student meeting) we watched as the entire student body marched behind a bag piper in full regalia, separated by class year towards the chapel for their first all school meeting. All the parents and faculty lined the sidewalk to watch, and you could see true pride in the faces of the older kids as they marched behind their banners. The seniors looked PSYCHED!

And Charlie? He never glanced to see if we were around, he was deep in conversation with another boy. While we were at all of the meetings, he was off meeting kids. We saw him briefly before we left, and he was bubbling over how he had met a ton of kids and could he live there?

So now it is almost 7:30 p.m. and the kids at the school need to be in their dorms by 8:00. We told him to call us and keep in mind that we have to drive 30 minutes to get him. But I have a feeling he doesn't want to leave.

And that is a good thing.

So tomorrow afternoon Maddie leaves for sports camp for the rest of the week; Peter goes to work and Charlie will be in school.

I am going to lay in the middle of the living room and just listen to the stillness for a few hours. Oh, I forgot, I have to pick up Hallie in Salem at 10:30. I'll have to get up early to enjoy my brief stint of peace!!!