While the girls have been back at Fort Campbell for a while since I got back from deployment, Gabriella declined to have a birthday party, so starting school on post was the first big event since their return. And of course, this included all the fun activities that go hand-in-hand with the new school year, such as shopping for clothes and school supplies, prepping the house for the daily routine and homework, and triple checking to make sure that the battery on my car will not die on the big day. Here comes a short post on the girls’ first day of school at Barkey Elementary.
Before we get to the meat of the post, let us address the elephant in the room. Going back to when I was still deployed to Romania, the Soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) knew we were going to be in the field for most of August. This meant I was not only probably going to miss their first day of school (again?), but for my situation as a single parent, I was going to have to call in help for the three weeks I was projected to be in the field. Thankfully, my Mom was available and more than happy to spend three weeks with her granddaughters, help me out, and travel around Tennessee and Kentucky while the girls were at school. While there will be a separate post on Grandma’s visit to Fort Campbell to help us out, it truly was a godsend and the girls and I loved having her and Papa around.
As we started preparing for our three weeks in the field, we got word from our Commanding General that Soldiers with school-age children were going to be transported back in order to take their kids to their first day of school. After missing last year due to being deployed, this was great news. The day before their first day of school, I climbed in the back of a Light-Medium Tactical Vehicle (LMTV) and was driven back to spend a couple days with my girls.
Surprisingly, things were even a little more hectic when I got back home. While the girls were extremely well-behaved around Grandma, all that stored energy seemed to come out as soon as I walked through the door. Sorry, girls, but you need calm down and focus, as we have a lot to do before drop-off. Clothes to pick out. Lunches to pack. Pre-Combat Checks (PCC), Pre-Combat Inspections (PCI), and rehearsals to conduct. Issuing a five-point contingency plan (GOTWA). Pretty standard “First Day” stuff for military children. And of course, we had hundreds of pictures to take.
The girls were understandably a little nervous about going to school on Fort Campbell, as both the post and school were a lot bigger than Fort Huachuca and Colonel Jonston Elementary (thankfully, we conducted a leader’s recon months ago, so they were not too surprised). Even though they did not particularly like living in Central Texas, they absolutely loved their school, Sparta Elementary School in Belton. Elaina was very excited to start the new year, while Gabriella was a little apprehensive about it. To prevent any issues with traffic or forgetfulness, we parked at Barkley about 30 minutes early and walked together to the entrance. After chatting for a long time and the girls trying to weasel out of going to school (seriously), we finally had our goodbye hugs, I wished them a great first day, and they walked through the doors. Even though they were nine and eight (on the day school started), it was nice that there was no crying or overly excessive pleading to just take them home. Even though some things get more difficult for them with age (I am looking at you, waking up early!), tantrums on the first day seem to be a thing of the past.
By the time I picked them up at the end of the day, the girls’ outlook on school had flipped flopped; Gabriella was very happy with her teacher and classmates, while Elaina was woefully unimpressed with the 4th grade (thankfully, this changed after a week). We got to do the same routine the next day (a big thanks to our Commanding General for making this possible), before I had to say goodbye and head back to the field for another two weeks.
While the first day left a little to be desired, they are now very happy with their teachers and each have a good group of friends both at Barkley and the Airborne School-Age Center. While it was tough to leave them again (for all of us), it was good to know they had a great first day at school and were in good hands with Grandma.
Thanks for checking in on us.
Cheers!
Adventures in Single Dadding 