Well, well, well friends, it’s finally arrived, that day that so many of us have been waiting for since the second day the kids were off for the summer.
It’s the night before the first day back at school!!
Mothers everywhere can be seen scurrying around finishing up laundry (making sure the one and only perfect outfit is clean for the morning); throwing together lunches; setting alarms an hour earlier; taking deep breaths and reviewing master lists of things which MUST be done by the morning; leaning on door jambs, gazing at their children as they sleep remembering how it felt to hold them that very first time.
Tonight if you logged into Facebook, you were certain to see old photos of children on their 1st day of school; read Mothers and Fathers reminiscing. Blogs tomorrow morning will be filled with the same and more…tips for transitioning your children, making lunches, choosing clothing….on and on. I’m certain that I too will eventually write about some, if not all of these topics.
But not tonight.
Tonight my girls each have new indoor shoes, clean clothes, backpacks with their supplies and lunches will be made tomorrow morning amidst the chaos of preparations with a brand new 1st grader and 3rd grader.
Tonight I have a different focus……I’m not emotional, not weepy over their growth….I am not concerned about who their teachers are, nor which friends they might or might not have in their classrooms.
No, tonight my friends feels like the night before Christmas for me.
……
……
(that’s my dramatic pause)
Why?
I can sleep knowing that my children won’t be bored; they won’t be whining at me constantly; they won’t be stuck in the state of entitlement which seemed to hit my children by the 2nd week of summer activities. For the first time in over 2 months I will not have to hear my 5&7 year old girls bickering, squealing and screaming in the background of my life.
I don’t care if your kids are older or not, the summer months stretch a Mother’s patience! If you’re a stay-at-home Mom, you hear it all day. If you leave the home to work, you pay astronomical rates to have a reliable, secure daycare situation for your children. If you are one of my homeschooler friends; you already know I bow to you! And if your children are old enough not to require daycare; well at least now you’ll know where they are!
For the first time in 7 years I will be alone in this house during the day.
In
Silence
By
Myself!
WOW.
Yeah I’m a bit excited!
I am raising my glass of water at God on this one, what a great plan He reveals sometimes.
This freedom which has been granted me will allow me to continue therapy without having to find babysitters, to write that book which I’ve been struggling with for months, to lie down when the pain becomes too much…….too many positive things to list.
I’ve come along way baby! The old me would definitely have seen this as a reason to raise a glass of wine. The old me would never, ever have put this out there….I wouldn’t have been able to see how wonderful this stage is. I would have wallowed in my youngest going to school full-time, I would have longed for the baby years and stressed about EVERYTHING.
But tonight I’m not. I know that God’s plan is in action and He has a reason for this change of stage. This example happens to be easier for me to see than most, the logistics of my physical recovery alone will be so much simpler….but it still takes me to trust Him to be this comfortable with it.
Nowadays I feel comfortable telling you that I’m so happy my kids won’t be in the house with me, not just for selfish reasons but yup they count too!
If you are a Mother or a Father, and you try to tell me that you’re not just a bit excited tonight….well my friend, you are either a liar or not looking at this from the right perspective! Come on people, do a bit of a happy dance with me.
It’s okay to admit it, while we love the summer it’s a relief when September comes around and you survived!!
I am with you, I was excited as mine headed into JK and SK. The day flew by fast and they returned happy to be in school and loved their day.
The whole city is jumping for joy ….until they get stuck behind a school bus on the way home !! LOL ;-)
I hope September has treated you well, Julie… September has been a very hard month on me. I thought I’d have soooo much time to catch up on my own projects, but we’re choosing a high school for our son this year; he now plays on two soccer teams, which means three practice nights per week, plus two matches on weekends; art lessons, music lessons, etc. Plus everything to do around the house. I only realized this week that I’d given up commenting on other folks’ blogs because I just couldn’t fit it in. I’m sorry no longer to be on your blogroll! But I’m glad you’re still plugging away and hope you’ll talk more about that book you’re working on. cheers G