As excited as I get every year to bring my kids back to school, I also get a bit emotional, too. Sure, it’s awesome for them to see their friends after a summer apart and learn cool new things and stop telling me they’re bored even after we just spent six hours at an amusement park laughing our faces off and draining my wallet. But I also cannot believe that they are a grade older! I mean, I’m thrilled to be able to hear myself think again after three long months of racket—don’t get me wrong. But when the heck did they get so big?
I know I’m not the only mom whose head is all over the place after I drop my kids off on the first day of school. Here are just some of the things we’re thinking as we pull away in our foot-scented, sand-filled, kid-free cars.
1. FREEEEEEDOOOOOOOMMMM!
2. WOW. The car feels REALLY quiet. This is weird.
3. Time to blast some inappropriate music.
4. Wait! Did I put her lunch in her backpack?
5. Oh no! Did I remember to put all the color-coded binders in his backpack?
6. Of course I did. It was on my checklist and my checklists never fail me.
7. Oy. Seems my optimism about the drop-off lane running more smoothly this year was all for naught.
8. MOVE IT, PEOPLE. MAMA NEEDS TO GO GET HER LATTE ON.
9. I really hope she likes her teacher.
10. I really hope his teacher likes him.
11. What if they don’t know anyone in their class?
12. CALM DOWN. They’ll be fine. Not as fine as I look in these fab new Levi’s jeans that I’ve bought specifically to bust out of my yoga pants rut, but, still. Perfectly fine.
13. Know who else will be fine? ME. I could kiss the faces of whoever it was that invented full-day school.
14. Though I do hope they remember to keep their shoes on all day. And their pants.
15. She looked like such a big kid in her new reading glasses. WHERE DID MY BABY GIRL GO?
16. He looked like such a man in his new collared shirt. I’M NOT READY FOR THIS.
17. Ooooooh gross I bet one of them brings home a class toy or pet this week. Eww.
18. Ooooooh boy I bet one of them brings home a head lice letter this week. Eww.
19. It might be time for me to go through all the papers I dumped out from their backpacks the last day of school, huh.
20. What time is pick-up, again? I probably shouldn’t miss that.
21. OH MY CHEESE AND CRACKERS I HOPE THEY DON’T HAVE HOMEWORK ALREADY TONIGHT.
