Being There...Brought To You By Skype

It’s amazing how the mind works. This morning I woke up at 2:00 for an unwanted trip to the bathroom and started to think about the fact that I would be making the 3 hour drive back to school in a few hours. This is my first day of regular classes and also the first day of school for my kids. Both are heading off to new schools. I remind myself that I have never missed the first day of school and then I start calculating hours… if I got on the road by 8:15, I could be to school by 11:15 and that would only mean missing 3 hours of school. That’s not so bad, is it? At 2:00 AM it all seems possible. Then I feel the potential for this possibility to become reality. The indecision starts to kick in and then I start to get all sweaty and confused. All of this happens in a couple of minutes in the dark, in the bathroom. Then, reality quickly returns and I realize that no, I can’t skip MY first day of school. The kids won’t be scarred for life because they had to get ready without me and surely dad will remember to take the traditional photo with the backpacks. I’m sure they’ll cope just find without me… Skype will have to do.
By 11:30 my classes are done and again I feel the wave of anxiety and I begin to debate the possibility of leaving the big city to head home in time to see the kids and hear all about their first day. Again, the pressure mounts until I decide that it’s a lot of driving, gas, and lack of sleep for a few hours. A very important few hours, but I suppose everything can be reported to me via Skype. Yay for Skype. It wouldn’t be quite so bad if I had homework to do but we haven’t been given any assignments yet. So, I’ll fit in a workout at the Y.
I love technology! I timed out my activities so that I would be done at the Y just about the time the kids would be getting home from school. I hooked up to the internet in the parking lot and talked with the kids just moments after they returned from their first day. It’s like I was there! I kept the windows up so no one would notice that I was talking to my computer, but after the sweat started to roll down my forehead, I had to crack open a window. It was great, though. The kids told me all about their days – well, as much as you’re going to get from a boy in high school. But I could tell that he had a good experience by the look on his face and the thumb’s up. My daughter was a bit more descriptive and was also very happy with her classroom.
Who knows, I may fit in one more Skype conversation before bed!