Encouragement for all of the mamas out there adjusting to back to school life!
Today ends a season and a new one starts to unfold. The season of littles at home during the day has been closed as we enter into life with all three kids in school.
As I type, tears continue to fill my eyes. Honestly, I have cried more at random times over the past few weeks thinking about today than I care to admit. Yet, in the next moment, I have smiled with excitement and anticipation about the new season.
How can I experience such extreme emotions over this?! Am I going crazy? Or maybe, I am just a mom, like you, experiencing the wide range of emotions we feel when it comes to our kids.
Today ends a season.
My youngest enters kindergarten with butterflies in her stomach and mine as well. This will be the only year all three kids are at the same school. Looking at my three kids with the backpacks loaded up, I see the past nine years of motherhood in a whirlwind of memories.
There is a jumble of memories of pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, baby registry shopping, many first moments, playdates, sippy cups, blankets, diapers, potty training, Cheerios, breaking up fights, teaching sharing, wiping noses, grilled cheese sandwiches, boo-boos, laughter, Thomas the Train tracks, lots of Daniel Tiger episodes, cleaning up vomit, parks, Chick-fil-A, gassy babies, pacifiers, the list goes on and on.
These past nine years have been filled with some of the hardest moments and some of the most beautiful moments. Some days I felt like super mom and the others like a super bad mom. There was not anything extraordinary that happened and yet the past nine years were extraordinary in every possible way.
With my oldest, I was constantly wishing for him to achieve the next milestone, with my middle I was in survival mode, a lot, and with my youngest, I let go of worrying about milestones and slowed down.
Finally, by the time she was born, I realized how fast the time goes (I know we all hate hearing the older lady at Walmart say it but she does have a point). I stopped worrying about milestones, when potty training would happen, and a million other things. It has not been perfect, but I realized by letting go, I was able to savor more.
Today ends a season.
As I drive home from dropping the kids off, I enter into our house without a little kid present for the first time in nine years. Empty breakfast dishes sit in the sink, laundry waits to be changed, and the coffee is brewing.
With a smile and tears in my eyes, I take a deep breath. I am ready for the new season. There will be more hard moments and beautiful moments and there is a lot more of my kid’s childhood to be savored.
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