Getting Official

Last Friday I dropped withdrawal forms off at both of the boys' middle schools. I had had the paperwork to do this for a while, but I had been putting it off for a couple of reasons. For one thing, if for some reason we ended up not going on the trip it would be a huge pain to re-enroll them. So I wanted to do it as late in the process as possible. But the more honest reason is that officially pulling the kids out of school was the thing, for me, that meant that this trip was really going to happen. It wasn't signing the rental agreement on our apartment in Barcelona. It wasn't the family trip to NYC to apply for visas. It was handing the school secretaries those simple forms that made it real. And I guess a part of me wasn't ready for it. But now it's done and I have to say, it felt pretty good. I was super-impressed with both schools. Word had travelled behind the scenes and at both schools they knew to expect this form. We were especially nervous about Ryan's school because it's a magnet school, and he had to audition to get in. We were worried that they would accidentally give away his spot when he withdrew. But the woman at the front desk assured us that she would not let that happen, even without our asking. So that gave us a lot of confidence. Dropping the form off at Will's school was just as efficient, but also bittersweet. When he goes back to school next year he will be in high school. It's weird (and very Delaware) that he doesn't know at this point where he will be going to school, but it definitely won't be there. We have loved this middle school for the last three years and it's hard to say goodbye. Well, it would have to happen eventually, now or in June, so now it's done.

Anyway, they will now officially be Laurel Academy students starting February 3. And this time next week we will be in Barcelona!