Well, the kids survived the first day of school. And I survived as well, even the running to two different schools once again.

It’s a big change from the lazy days of summer, when the rule was they could stay up pretty much as late as they wanted as long as they didn’t keep the working people up.

Now it’s off to their rooms by 9, lights out half an hour later, up by 6 and out the door by 7. (Unless we head to the gym like this morning, in which case the car leaves the driveway at 5:30.)

The biggest success story? Survival of the first day of high school. Despite my son’s concerns about a three-story school building, he did not get lost. He has some of his closest friends in five of his seven classes. There even are two hot girls – “beasts,” in his vernacular – in his biology class. Alas, they are sophomores, and he doubts they’ll give him a second glance. Still, he’s much more cheerful than he was Monday night.

This post originally appeared on ourMidland.com, the online home of the Midland (MI) Daily News. Republished with permission.