*sigh*

Such sweet children, bravely facing the first day of third, fifth and seventh grade.  Confident.  Excited.  No one needed me this morning.  Everyone rode the bus -- carried their own supplies.  I was feeling a little sad until D turned back as he walked out the door and said, "I guess if you want you can meet me at the school.  If you want . . ."  Yeah.  There it is.  I'm still "The Mom".  They need me, underneath it all, and I'm happy to oblige.  And that quiet house -- the one I've been longing for all summer -- was maybe a just little too quiet as the day wore on.  (Nothing I won't get used to by week's end, I assure you.)  The three o'clock hustle and bustle was most welcome.  The chatter about weird bus drivers and new friends and chinchillas . . .  That's what life is all about, really.  Ahhhhh, absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.