Today was the first day of school for all of my children. The youngest began kindergarten and the oldest is a high school senior. There were no tears of any kind, not from them, not from me. I saw the moms with tears in their eyes as they said goodbye. But I was the mom with the big smile and a hopeful heart. After all- for our family it was the first first day and the last first day.
After dropping of the two younger ones I came home to a quiet and empty home. There were no messes to clean or cries of “Mom, I am hungry.” At first I was not sure what to do. So I did some laundry and there was no one at my feet or running around the yard while I hung out laundry on the line. I did some paper work (paid some bills) and then decided to investigate some Masters Degree programs. My husband only had one small job today, so he came home and we went out to lunch. It seemed like it had been since forever since we had lunch alone together: no spilt drinks or trips to the bathroom. He too said the feeling was a bit odd.
The afternoon wore on and it was time to get the elementary aged kids from school, the teenager has been driving a while so now he is his own personal taxi. They were both happy to see me and Daddy in the pick up line. The rest of the day seemed like any other, snacks, outside play, dinner, baths, the evening tidy and finally bed time. The kindergartner asked if he could go to school tomorrow. When I replied “yes-sweetheart” his face lit up with joy.
All and all it was a great day for our family. I am so happy to no longer have preschool aged children. I loved the baby stage but watching each of my 3 kids grow and progress in life is my favorite part of parenting. Leaving one stage for the next making their way to adults brings me the most joy. It also makes me feel like I am winning as a mom. So score one for this mom.
SouthernHippyMamma 