The life of Justin

Justin's attending 2nd Grade at "Howard W. Hathaway" (he gets after me when I shorten it to "Hathaway") Elementary School this year. He was in Mrs. Marsden's 1st grade class when we got here in January and he's graduated to Mrs. Dufour's class for second grade. I've been volunteering once a week in Mrs. Dufour's class so I get to see him grow and learn new things. Some of the kids in his class are Isiah, Caleb, Janiece (the kids I often work with), Jake (who is Brynn's brother), Nick and Holly (from soccer), Hannah (Tiny Mite Cheerleader), Brennan (self proclaimed author), and many others that I'm learning as the year goes along.

Justin usually rides the bus to and from school but I often find the excuse to drop him off or pick him up. Every morning the principal (Dr. Martin) will stand out front waving to all of the parents regardless of how cold it gets. Justin rides bus 9 and gets dropped off right outside of the door next to his classroom. On the days that I pick him up, I go through the chaos of picking a number and getting in line to check him out in the library. (Yes, you check your kids out at the library...). On the mornings when I drop him off he usually gets out of the car and blows me a kiss before running to the door. Usually he'll yell "I love you Mom" and I melt. Our other favorite time of day is when he gets home from school because, for just a minute, he smiles that special smile that starts in his eyes when he sees us. He's usually got a dog treat with him (compliments of Ms. Caroline, the bus monitor) and Jasmine is so excited to see him that she wags herself into a pretzel. Justin usually comes in and wolfs down a PB&J before we head off to football and the evening slowly winds down on the sidelines of Portsmouth High School's practice field...