Before I start talking about this year, I need to give a little bit of history. I am a self-proclaimed nerd and people who know me know that I LOVED school. I always have, which is probably why I am still in school. Anyway, for me it wasn't (and never has been) about getting new school supplies, new clothes, and moving to a new classroom. That was part of it, but it was also about the promise of everything I had to learn. I was always so excited about what knowledge was to be had that year, what I was going to know at the end of the year that I didn't know at the beginning. I didn't always know how to articulate that, but I understand it now.
My oldest son is starting kindergarten this year. So it's not really back to school for us, it's starting school. I know that for a lot of mama's the first day of kindergarten is bittersweet. It's a reminder that our children are growing up, that they won't need us forever. Maybe I'm a little bit different, but I am not sad. I am SO excited for what this means for him. He has so much to learn and he is so excited about learning. He is so curious and soaks up information like a sponge. He is going to be in a place with other kiddos who are the same way and will have a teacher who will be able to help him learn.
I do have concerns about him making friends, I have concerns about the education he will get. I have concerns about bullying, whether he is the bully or the bullied. I am concerned that I have not prepared him enough. But if I feed into those concerns, it will eat me alive. It may even impact him and I don't want that to happen. If problems occur, and no doubt they will, we will have to address them one at a time.
So for all of you mama's who are sending kiddos off to school, for the first time or the last, it's OK. As long as they know that you love them, they will be just fine.
