packing for high school

Greetings all,
tomorrow is the day i have been thinking about since i became a mother - the day my first born starts high school.  I'm so excited, i loved high school, it was fantastic.  It's disappointing when people say something like "people who were popular at high school, that was as good as life got for them" meaning they faded away & ended up the losers in real life.  In Australia, i don't think there is THAT much empahsis on high school as so many students play regional sport, one third go to private schools (which may not be local) & have part time jobs mixing with peers outside of their insular high school world or neighbourhood.  Whatever, all i know is that i had a ball in high school, i played sport, dated boys, snuck into night clubs, 'borrowed' cars & threw some awesome parties.  It was Sydney's north shore, it was the 1990's & i had older siblings babysitting me as our parents were overseas on holiday after holiday. 

Hey, i finished high school a virgin, never smoked a cigarette or drugs & got in the top 5% of the state.  How - i have no idea, i still didn't have any common sense.  I had never EVER met a soldier yet i was voted 'most likely to marry a man in uniform', ha ha ha.  I laughed at the girls who did home science & sewing - did they want to get married & have children or something??   Um, I went on to marry my teen love, collect a couple of university degrees & pop out 4 babies in my 20s . . . i was one of 2 married girls at our 5 year reunion & the only mother of 3 at our 10 year reunion, yes, jaws were dropped, "Jennie got sensible".   

Things have changed from my high school days though . . . check out what my daughter has packed in her bag, just to walk in the school gates on day one for year 7 . . .  

all the basics like new shoes, back pack & a million dollars on uniforms; i made her a new pencil case; she has a laptop (in that purple floral personalised cover); a mobile phone; folder; note book; plus a little purse for just-in-case she gets her periods at school.  Bless my growing girl, not a single sign of puberty happening yet, but imagine, oh imagine getting your periods at school??  It might not happen for a couple of years, but we're ready.  
I have to commend her on the maturity she's shown during this whole primary to high school transition . . . trying on baggy uniforms & all the new things being thrown her way.  She hasn't been negative, rude or oppositional . . . she's been happy, interested & open to my suggestions (please let this continue into teenagedoomdome).  When i suggested a purse for sanitary products, she was like "ok, that's a good idea" & i was so impressed.  If that was my mother saying that to me . . . i would have died, withdrawn & run away with my hands over my ears.  She handles all these changes so well, like going to a huge school with 1200 girls & . . . leg hair removal.  Yes, her little legs are bruised like a toddler but unlike my mother who sent my big sister off to year 7 with hairy legs, my sister wasn't going to let that happen to me & i wasn't going to let that happen to my daughter!!  She asked about shaving her legs & i had a flash back to cutting myself with a razor (remember girls??) & thought hair removal cream might be safer, it worked a treat, i highly recommend it (i still shave, less cuts these days though).
So the uniform is pressed, laptop charged, bag packed, leg hair removed & my big girl is off to high school.  I could not be prouder & i wish her all the fun (clean, wholesome fun) i had, perhaps with less parties & car borrowing??!!  
For all of those in the ACT who finally have children commencing or resuming school this week, i think we've earned ourselves a big pat on the back & perhaps a cheap Tuesday movie??  Love Posie 
PS i made no mention of my husband's high school days for a reason, he didn't study, he got into real trouble & let's just say . . . when Oprah sent Jay Z out to donate $1M worth of laptops to an impoverished Sydney high school . . . yep, he chose my husband's old school!!  Sigh, enough said.  Joining Army cadets when he was 13 was the best thing he ever did, he was a born soldier!!