A Nostalgic First Day of School

Today Facebook has been flooded with 'first day of school' photos; at least in my neighborhood. I have a great nephew who started kindergarten this morning, as well as a friend's granddaughter. Aah, the memories of a first day. The first day of elementary school, the first day of junior high, the first day of high school or college, and the first day of a new year for a teacher. Life is all about making memories and first days.

It's wonderful to see the kids so excited about their first day; smiling faces, new backpacks and sneakers, a new lunch box. It's always good when it's a positive experience. Many will come home to tell their parents about their teacher and classroom or their new best friend. Hopefully they will all feel the same next week when they realize they need to keep going, lol.

There are lots of things to remember about the first day of school. My kids are grown now; adults and well past the age of K-12, but I still remember their first days. I also remember the trips to Target or Office Max for the needed school supplies and the dreaded TI-86 graphic calculators. Once they were in junior high or high school it seemed like they needed a new version of calculator every year. By the time they were in high school we had the school supply shopping down to a 'science' or an 'art' form, pardon the school puns.

As a parent who has survived 2 children going through their general education, as well as obtaining their college degrees I pray each day for the students, the parents, and the teachers. So much to learn, so much commitment, and so much responsibility ... for all of them. Education is a beautiful thing and something that should never be taken for granted. As I sit here typing out this blog post I am watching the season premiere of The Ellen Degeneres Show, where Walmart just shared their commitment to education by supporting 5 students currently pursuing their college degrees with $50,000 in scholarships each. OMG! How wonderful for those five students. Taking a little of the stress out of pursuing a better life. That is to be commended.

Here's to a new school year for everyone. May it be one of new experiences, learning new things, making friends, and being respectful of everyone.

If your children are past this 'first day' what are some of your favorite memories?

If you sent your children out the door this morning for their 'first day', how did it go?

Give Yourself Permission

  Some people have absolutely no trouble taking time for themselves, having fun with a hobby, or taking the time to meet a friend for lunch. Gosh! I wish I was that person. I made a decision a long time ago when I became a parent that I would dedicate as much time as I could to helping to raise my kids. I promised myself I'd be involved, I'd coach, I'd volunteer, I'd chaperone, I'd host birthday parties, etc., etc. I can say with a completely clear conscience that I've done that. Some people have accused me of being 'too' involved, but that's o.k. People are entitled to their own opinion, just as I am mine.

   When I was a young girl my mom was a girl scout leader and she did drive me to dance classes, but as I hit my teenage years our family circumstances changed and her availability to be involved changed. I can't blame anyone, but I did miss the involvement. I vowed that when I became a parent I would make the choices I wanted to make, when I could, and it wouldn't matter to me what others thought. As much as my husband and I have been involved with our kids I always thought it was sad to see the kids who were missing out. We became surrogate 'fill-in' role models and mentors whenever we could. My daughter's high school girlfriends still laugh and joke with my husband by talking with him with their finger strategically placed horizontally under their nose to mimmic his mustache.

   This summer (even this past week) marks a turning point for me. My daughter graduated high school and my son was home for a visit to help celebrate with his sister. Today, I left for work, my husband left for work, our son left to drive back to his home out of state, and our daughter worked on projects to get ready for her summer before college and to start her first job later this week. Things are changing in my house and I'm feeling a little bittersweet about it.

   I'm not going to pretend that I won't miss the involvement, the chauffeuring around, the planning of fundraising events, the schedules, and 'yes' sometimes even the chaos of it all. Do you know why? Because it's all part of being a family, being a parent, and caring about your kids. I find it somewhat unsettling when I see some parents turn off being involved like it's a magic switch. Am I looking forward to carving out some ME time? You bet I am. Am I looking forward to not scheduling dinner around the events marked in red on the kitchen calendar? Absolutely.

   But I think it's going to take me a little bit of time. I'm going to need a sort of transitional period. At first, I may even need to give myself permision to do some stuff for me. Have you experienced this transition? Were you able to do it gracefully? Any suggestions?

It's Back To School Time

Today marks the second successful day of school around my home (for K-12). Most of the college students already headed back last week. I had to laugh today when my boss (the church's pastor) said that the Sunday School parent meeting had only 5 people attend last night. He sounded a little discouraged until his wife (who is an elementary teacher) reminded him that yesterday was the first day of school.

As parents, we know what that can mean ... emergency forms needed to be filled out and signed, school supplies needed to be purchased, lunches had to be made, bedtimes had to be enforced and if you're like me ... a headache needed to be treated. My daughter is a high school junior this year and all I can say is 'boy was she wired last night'. My husband and I sat at the dinner table and listened patiently to the full blown details of every class she has, every teacher she has, the sophomore/junior/senior ratio of every class, who said what to whom, what instrument she would be playing in the orchestra this year (switching it up and playing bass instead of the viola ... a fun challenge), and to top it off when I asked her if she had found any of her friends to eat 'A' lunch with she smiled and informed her father that she did and is eating lunch with some of the guys on the boys' swim team. Statements like that will make the hairs on the back of her dad's neck stand out every time. Fortunately we know who one of the boys is and dad approves. It's funny though. When her older brother was in school he had more friends that were girls than boys and now I see the same similarity with my daughter. While she has A LOT of girlfriends she also has a lot of boys who are friends who stand in as brothers, which is not a bad thing.

So, whether you are responsible for running your kids to soccer practice, making the lunches, carpooling to girl scouts or chaperoning the marching band at the weekend football game ... I tip my hat to you in respect. School schedules can be just as busy for parents as they are for the students, but years from now we'll all hopefully look back and smile. Time flies by too quickly as it is. Enjoy this time with your kids. There is no other time like it and you can't get it back later. Makes sense to enjoy it while it's here.