K & O’s First Day of School 2012

First Day of School 2012, Owen & Kyle age 8 {don’t they look huge and old?! they wear size 10-12, and I swear they look like they are 10 or 12 too}

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Yesterday was Kyle and Owen’s first day of 2nd Grade.

We are trying separate classes this year. Any twin, or parent of twins, or grandparent of twins, or sibling/friend/relative of twins (!), knows what a big deal this is. I could write about 500 blog posts on the topic of “To Separate or Not To Separate, That Is The Question.” I have read more about this topic, spoken with more people about this topic, and spent more hours awake at night dwelling on this topic, than I’d ever care to admit. The bottom line, it seems, is this: The determination of whether or not to separate, and at what age, really depends on the specific twins, the specific school, and the specific circumstances of the specific situation that any specific individual(s) are in. For a whole host of reasons Braydon and I, and Kyle and Owen’s teacher from 1st Grade, really felt strongly that K & O should try separate classes this year.

It took the entire summer for me to get buy in on this from K & O. They started the summer 100% opposed. Gradually and painstakingly we managed to move ourselves through all the conversations, emotions, and baring-our-souls-in-heart-to-heart-conversations that were required to come through this decision. For Kyle and Owen (and for me, especially in the beginning, I’ll admit), this decision felt like a big huge one. By mid-July Kyle was ready to go for it. It took Owen until 5 days before school started to be fully on board. But then, after a major breakthrough in a soul-searching conversation about the subject of Separate Classes and Twins, over a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and glass of milk at 4am one morning (he was lying awake at night obsessing about it), Owen turned a corner and was fully ready to jump in with both feet. By the time the First Day of School rolled around, both boys were 100% ready to rock second grade in separate classrooms.

For the record– their classrooms are literally right next door to each other (only separated by a thin wall); they have math together everyday; they have recess together; and see each other approximately 100 times per day while at school for various other miscellaneous reasons. [It is not like they’ve moved to separate continents or anything!]

Yesterday morning K & O were nothing but excited for the start of the school year. They each have their very own new (awesome!) teacher. They each have their own classroom of friends. They each have the chance to thrive and to struggle through the ups and downs of whatever 2nd grade will bring, without the burden of the constant looming compare-and-contrast to their twin. And they each get the rare opportunity for a little break from each other for some of their day, 5 days a week, for the next 9 months.

And so, yesterday, we all jumped in to the year headfirst, with both feet, enthusiastically.

The rainy morning did not damper their excitement whatsoever. I got a lump in my throat as I watched these three heading off for the bus– they have been three-little-peas-in-a-tight-tight-little-pod this whole summer. It kind of kills me to see the summer end and see them each go off a little bit their own separate ways. It was time. But still. Mama had some emotions yesterday morning, and mainly they were around the loosening of the togetherness of the threesome.

But, quick as a flash, the bus came and went and we waved goodbye and good luck to K & O (Meera’s first day is Friday).

We waited in anxious anticipation for the dynamic duo to come home after school. They barely said two words to us because they were too busy talking a million-miles-an-hour with each other about their day. From what we were able to overhear, they each had a great day.

In terms of direct communication we got only the following: How was school? “Awesome!” How was it with separate classes? “Awesome!” And that was that. It was, apparently, all just absolutely “Awesome!”

Back home, later in the afternoon, it was time for a movie (they were exhausted, of course). I was working at my computer, but looked over to see this on the couch:

And that is how those two sat for an hour straight, with their other brother on the floor not very far from their feet. Three-little-peas-in-a-tight-tight-little-pod after K & O’s First Day of School 2012.