August is my favorite month. Not because the weather is beautiful, or because my
family and I can enjoy camping in the wilds of Alaska. No, August embraces a
more mystical and near religious experience. The beginning of school.
The excitement starts around the first of the month with school registration.
I'm thrilled by this for a couple of reasons. First, the fact that both
my children have successfully maneuvered through another year and will
advance to the next grade is a reason for great celebration.
The second reason I love school registration is that it's a harbinger of quiet
days filled only with the tapping of my keyboard. Don't get me wrong, I love
summer and bonding with my kids. It's not as if I drag my children out of
bed on registration day, bleary-eyed, throw them in the car, and park my lawn
chair at the school's front door like I'm buying tickets to a Lady Gaga concert.
That thought has hardly ever crossed my mind. It's the anticipation that in two
weeks the fruit of my loins will again spend their days learning, laughing, and
chattering to somebody other than me.
So, as you might have guessed, my favorite day of the year is the first day of
school. Crisp new outfits that haven't been stained, theirs not mine. Shiny
backpacks that haven't been dragged across the ground and befouled by God knows
what. The friendly face of the bus driver who is just beginning her stint with
my children. I want to feel sorry for her, but all I can feel is gratitude.
Goodbye, my offspring. Go learn and grow for six to seven hours, Monday through
Friday. Don't worry about me. And as I stand on the side of the road waving
madly at the blank faces of the children, the rumbling diesel bus spits exhaust
fumes in my face and the tension eases from my shoulders.
My vacation time starts now. For the next nine months I'll be able to take my
daily brainstorming walk without stopping to look at a squished worm, or yelling
twelve times, "Get out of the middle of the road. What, have you been pithed?"
I won't feel guilty that I haven't showered, cleaned the house, or even seen
another human all day. I will languish in the copious hours of crafting my
Bringer and the Bane series or maybe chat with a writer friend sans the
dulcet tones of the All Girl Smack-Down screeching from the living room.
The only rule is that at three o'clock the writer must morph back into mom. I'll
turn off my computer and the lamp in my office, signaling me that my writing day
has ended. It releases me from the bonds of my story and draws me back to
reality, back to the people who want nothing more from me than all my
attention. I can do that because I know in twelve hours I'll be slapping their
happy little butts back on the bus and embracing another glorious day of writing.
My youngest starts kindergarten in a few weeks- I am terrified and thrilled. Terrified he won't be able to navigate the new world of school and other children but thrilled that he has the chance and that I will once again have the house to myself for several hours a day- blissful hours where I can work and write without Blue's Clues or Dora the Explorer or worse Yo Gabba Gabba blaring in the background or interruptions ever five minutes concerning food, snacks, drinks, or just strange questions that little kids tend to ask.
I'm not sure I'll be able to navigate this strange and new world of being home alone. Perhaps I'll have to turn Nick Jr on in the background just to be able to work. LOL (Roxanne Rhoads 12:22pm August 14, 2011)
I at first found the pain, the tearring of being ripped apart from my child as they first entered their classroom, they were smiles, I tears.. I was even the last mother in the room, in the hall, heck, even in the parking lot to leave - now, my oldest is entering his senior year. I must say a glimmer enters my eyes as I search the aisles for composition books, graph paper, counting down the days. My holiday begins as the bus takes off, chores are rushed through, and a sigh can reverbrate through the house. Ahh, the most wonderful time of year. (Carla Carlson 6:22pm August 14, 2011)
I just wanted to thank you for your blog entry today. I think that everyone has has their share of stressors as of late - those with kids, those of us like me, without kids, that still have stressors, and just needed to not only read about what someone else is going through, but to put themselves in your shoes for a moment, and imagine what it's like. I wouldn't trade places with you, even though I've been through one of the top 10 times of my life right now, but you managed, even for a few minutes, for me to forget about my troubles, and to get me to laugh for a while. I even had a great visual of the bus fumes in the face as you were waving goodbye to your kids!! Thank you again for a most enjoyable posting!! (Peggy Roberson 8:42pm August 14, 2011)
Roxanne, I'm sure you'll find your groove. Then you'll be addicted. Dora the Explorer was the whole reason I started writing. I needed to silence the Backpack in my head.
Amen Carla! Amen! Thanks for stopping by.
Awww, Peggy, that is so sweet. Big hugs to you! I'm glad I could make you laugh. I think we all have time periods in our life that mark our stressful times whether you have kids or not. Thanks so much. (Boone Brux 10:33pm August 14, 2011)
I'm in the field of education so starting back to school means the end of vacation for me. It also means a new year to make a difference in the life of a child. I still get butterflies in my stomach on the first day of school. (Pam Scott 9:04am August 15, 2011)
It's great to have a routine when the kids go off to school. Only with my first, the twins, did I feel sad as they stretched tiny legs to reach up that big step on the bus. (Alyson Widen 1:35pm August 17, 2011)
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