Thoughts on Third Grade

Third Grade.

In Third Grade, my entire world changed. We moved. I left a school I loved, a teacher I loved, friends I loved, a house I loved and a neighborhood I loved. I still have a note from the principal that I got on my birthday that year. I still remember singing "Kookabura Sits in the Old Gum Tree" and playing "Thumbs Up 7-Up" at my desk. I can close my eyes and picture the classroom. I remember learning about President Carter and his love of Peanuts. I really thought Third Grade was the best ... until we moved. I still love the town where I spent most of the first 8 years of my life and I secretly wish that Sam would choose to attend College there. Elmhurst was "home".

Our new house needed a lot of work. It took up a lot of my parents time. Everything was new, and everything was different. However, I know that the changes that came in Third Grade allowed me to become who I am now. I made new friends, faced many new challenges, and forged new life long memories. I still love that town also, and get misty eyed just thinking about the street my Grandpa lived on just a few blocks from us. I loved walking home from swimming lessons through the sitting park near Stone Avenue station and looking for Chipmunks. I loved the sound of the train, the walks to Prosche drug store, and the local grocery store where everyone knew your name. LaGrange will always be "my home town".

Sam started 3rd Grade on Wednesday. So far I'm IN LOVE with 3rd Grade again. But I know that this year is going to be full of change, challenge, and growth for Sam. I know that he will make new friends, face new obstacles, and discover his own "favorite" things.

As his mom, I hope that I can help him recognize that no matter what he faces, he has the strength and love of God beside him to guide him and help him through the good and the bad.

I hope that as an adult, he'll remember the trails he ran on, the parks he played at, the treats from Culvers, and playing in the neighborhood with friends. I want him to look back and fondly remember all of this collectively as "home".