The kids went back to school today...or was it yesterday?
Actually it was last week, but who’s counting? Going back to school is a big deal. No matter how hot it is, summer is over. Everything is new. Shopping. New clothes, shoes, school supplies, hair thingies, jewelry, makeup, calculators. Everything changes. New classes, new friends, new schedules all around. There’s a bit of magic around starting a new “schedule”. It feels good after the freedom and randomness of summer vacation to tighten up and know where to be when!
So you have the excitement of shopping & stocking up on new things, the excitement of seeing old friends again, the excitement of new (schools), classes, friends. More than any other time of the year, I think, it’s a time for renewal, reinvention, growth. Whatever you did or did not do well last year, you can fix, adjust. Whoever you were or weren’t or however you acted or didn’t act, you can adjust, reinvent yourself, become somebody different.
I tell my kids...the slate is clean, the characters are changing. Whatever you didn’t like last year, whatever didn’t work for you, whatever you want to do differently...you can do. You want to have more friends...be outgoing, talk a little more. You want to get better grades...pay attention, work on details, do what you’re supposed to do. You want to have more fun...get involved in new activities, go to some sports events.
It’s good to be able to draw a line, set new goals and decide who you are and what you want to contribute. Even though it’s been decades since I’ve been in school (my kids would call it centuries), so many of those feelings are the same for me, as a mom sending off all 5 of my kids back to school. What will I do? Who will I be? What will I learn? What will I contribute? How will I make the most of this time I now have? Granted it’s not very long before the pick ups and drop offs and additional schedules start, but there is some time.
My biggest problem, then & now, is that I always want to do too much, my eyes are bigger than my stomach. I think I can cook & clean & do laundry, as well as work & read & write & workout. I think I can meet all my commitments, set new ones and still have time left over. Why is it we are always overfilling the available time? What happened to swinging on the porch swing watching the cars go by. Sometimes I find myself moving so fast I forget to cut my kids fingernails. I forget the most basic of things.
Just before school started back, my daughter with eyes aglow asked, “Aren’t you excited for us all to go back to school mom?” Just like she’d gotten the inside scoop from the moms club or heard me or some other mom saying so on the phone. I’m not even sure what I replied back, but the truth of the matter is that yes, 10 years ago, what a relief to send them back, have a little more time, have the weight of 24/7 lifted a little. But today, I’m not as excited for myself. I’m excited for them and the experiences they will have and the things that they will learn that will mark them and prepare them for their future.
As for me...I will miss them. They don’t need me as much anymore, they don’t take my time and attention in the same way. I love their stories and perspective on things. I love their humor, I love to hear them talk, I love to know what they’re excited about.
What’s the most exciting about them going back to school...having them come home and sharing that important part of their lives, letting them go and getting them back again. I can’t take that for granted. It’s just one more thing I’m thankful for!
Speaking of Christmas cards and other...
I am also in the entertainment indust...
Just read your Mother's Day blog and ...
Like Sharon, my kids move on when the...
Hi Sharon, I can relate, but I've...