I love a man in uniform

Ok - I love that my five year old has to wear a uniform next year. I love the school we found for him. I don't love paying for school, though. He passed the 1st grade entrance test in two different schools; however, neither were public school. He was on the waiting list for the school closest to us, but we like the second school we found as much, if not more. This whole battle - and it has felt like war - is so ridiculous. I swore that I would never send my kids to private school. There is no need. Then I had a child who was born in November.

S completed kindergatern last year. He did really well. Public school wouldn't even look at him unless we put him in kindergarten again. I did my research to see what he needed to know, what social milestones he needed to hit before he could move to first grade. I had to ignore a ton of people who told me I was wrong. I was told to let him repeat kindergarten because he was a boy and he would be better in sports if I held him back. SPORTS? Really? What the fuck is that about? I don't give a shit about a sports career. I care about education. I will not base my son's life on possible sports issues. It's called priorities, people.

And in the interest of full disclosure, I have a December birthday. I was a full year older than my classmates and hated it. Wow - I could drive earlier than my friends. Guess what that means? I got to pay for the gas to drive them around. I was also taller than all my friends - almost a foot taller than some. Would that have been different if I was with kids my age? Maybe. Would the teachers have treated me as if I was a regular kid if I was with kids my age? I hated being last for everything - size place order was the rage at the time. And who knows, maybe I would have worked harder if I had been challenged in school. I came into kindergarten reading chapter books and it was a battle to get the teacher to allow me to read something more than baby books when we went to the library.

So am I letting my emotions help me make my decision? You're god damned right I am. It's the little things that you can't quantify that create your school life. It may mean I keep S in private school until he completes 5th grade. I think he will thrive at this school, as much as his sister is thriving at public school. My only issue with Trinks' school is there are ignorant fake Christians who won't be friends with her because she's not Christian. I guess they haven't found Jesus yet. Trinks is outgoing and doesn't get lost in a class of 25. S might. So we shall see where this trip into private school leads us.

So now I am off to spend my life savings on khakis and navy pants with light blue, navy and white (white - really?) polos. I am planning to avoid the urge to dress him in button down Oxfords, even though he looks adorable in them. The good news is I can get rid of most of his clothes now. He'll only have 2 days to wear non uniform clothes. How many things does he really need????