This summer seemed to fly and that day I dread each year is upon us. THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! My children were a ball of energy last night talking of “what if the teacher is mean” or “what if I can’t make friends”. I on the other hand was thinking “What if I can’t get them to fall asleep at 8PM”.
I am very lucky in that my mother watches my children for me. I don’t have the daily struggles of day care or summer camps. My children get to stay up late and sleep in. They get the complete summer “break” package. When school begins, we find ourselves rushing to get homework done, pack lunches, and bath time. We find a total of one hour of quality time before they are rushed off to bed for a good night’s sleep. I truly love summer time!
I spent most of the night organizing paperwork (yes, I waited until the last minute), packing lunches, and assisting in the selection of “what to wear on the first day”. It was complete chaos and both of my children had zero ability to stay focused on the task at hand. As we finalized the last minute items, we began getting their school supplies together. I sat and rummaged through their new book bags removing tags and any indication that the item was new. Then it hit me.
The “smell” of school was cascading out of their supplies and I am not sure if it is the smell of newness or the smell of pencil lead and paper. It overwhelmed me with memories of the many first days of school for me. I remember each year thinking “will everyone be nice to me”, “will they be glad to see me”, “will I get good grades”, “and will I get through the day”. I remember being so excited and yet so sad to see the summer end. I remembered feeling exactly how they are feeling.
Before I knew it, it was 8:15 and the children were hustling to get in bed for a good night rest before the big day. I tucked them in and reminded them of the great adventures to come….lights out and sweet dreams… I went back down stairs to sit and relax for a bit but found that I too was restless and to be quite honest…lonely.
I went upstairs set my alarm and curled into bed with hopes for a good first day of school. I must have only been laying there for 15 minutes before I heard the footsteps of a little person and the tap on my shoulder. It was my son. He looked at me and said “I am too nervous and can’t sleep”. I, of course; offered to let him sleep in my bed and he quickly accepted. As he started to calm down, we chatted about being nervous. He did most of the talking from “will I always feel this nervous” to “what will I do when I go to College”. I giggled and told him that he will be glad to say goodbye when he goes to College. I also reassured him that he won’t be sleeping in my bed on the first night. He laughed and attempted to reassure me that he will always miss me…(yeah, I will remind him of this one). Before I knew it, he was fast asleep and I was wide awake. I couldn’t help but watch him sleep. He seemed so peaceful and happy. I couldn’t help but think of all that I wish I could protect him from and all I wish I could tell him (and him believe it).
As luck would have it, I wasn’t able to see them off on the bus, but I was able to get them dressed and ready to go before I left for work. Both of them were very excited but I still had that feeling of a “rock” sitting in the bottom of my stomach just waiting to explode. I kept reminding myself that my goal in life is to “educate” my children to become the best at what they strive to accomplish. However, the other responsibility of “protecting” my children kept coming to the forefront. I am putting my faith in the educators to perform these tasks for 6hours of the day and I have lost control to their destiny. I am living on faith that the educators will “love”, “protect”, and “educate” my children. I am no longer the complete package. There are others working towards my goal too.
So in Keeping it REAL, take the time to get to know your educators. Don’t feel intimidated when “speaking up” for your child’s rights. Be their advocate and be their support as they deal with “personality conflicts”, “bullies”, “homework”, and the pure challenge of getting through the year. Take one hour a night to talk, laugh, and cry over the day’s activities. And it doesn’t hurt to share your daily activities to include disappointments. After all, life is real and they need to know you share the same feelings..
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