First day of school = a very happy mommy
The day we’d been waiting for — for what felt like FOREVER — arrived yesterday, right on schedule.
The first day of school a.k.a. NO KIDS AT HOME FOR SIX HOURS EACH WEEKDAY OMGGGG.
It was a huge milestone for C, going off to Primary, but it was also a massive milestone for me, as a work-at-home mom.
For the last seven years (SEVEN YEARS!!!) I’ve always had one or two kids at home with me WHILE WORKING, except for the couple of hours C was in preschool.
And then yesterday, they were both climbing onto that big yellow bus of fantasticness.
I didn’t cry. I knew I wouldn’t.
I didn’t cry when D went off to Primary two years ago, but I did obsessively think about him all day long).
C was different. *I* was different. That girl could have started Primary last year and not blinked an eye. She was READY.
Oh, and we inadvertently dressed her as the little girl in Katy Perry’s “Wide Awake” video (one of C’s favourite songs). Of course we did.
I walked home alone, and it still didn’t feel strange. C often stayed at home while I’d taken D to the bus stop. She could have easily been on the couch watching YouTube videos on the iPad, asking me to make her breakfast. But she wasn’t.
Normally, I’d go down to my office and start working (like I am today), but not yesterday. Yesterday was a ME DAY!
I made breakfast for myself and Darling Husband (celebratory bacon) and then I hustled myself to the nail salon for a pedicure.
(It was lovely except the massive chair pummeled me in the back and I had to turn it off. I’m a baby.)
After my toes were dry, I wandered slowly through the mall. I used three different giftcards (the best kind of shopping). I bought myself three new pairs of PJs. I bought art supplies. I bought socks and underwear for the kids (which is fun to pick out, since it’s really their only “store-bought” clothing).
And, of course, I took happy selfies in the minivan with my iPhone’s timer.
I came home. I made myself lunch. I talked on the phone. Suddenly it was 2 p.m. and I had to go get the kids at the bus.
And there they were, full of smiles and stories.
We came home and baked chocolate-chip cookies together. (I’d sort of planned on having them ready when they came home, but clearly my ME TIME got in the way of baking.) I asked a million questions and they indulged me by answering all of them. We walked through their days in chronological order — starting with the moment they stepped onto the school bus that morning — while licking batter and waiting for the first batch to bake.
Today is different. I came home, had tea and eggs, and zoomed downstairs to start by work-day. I’m still in my (brand-new) PJs and it doesn’t matter, because I’m not going anywhere for hours. I don’t have preschool drop-off or pick-up. I don’t have kids to fetch or errands to run. The house is quiet — nothing but the sound of the washing machine churning in the next room, and the clacking of this old keyboard with the letters rubbed off some of the keys. (A, S, C, N and L, interestingly.)
I’m excited to see them this afternoon, but I’m also so relieved to be alone right now. This new life for all us just feels so RIGHT.
Working in my office — not in a McDonald’s or a playplace or a park or close to the back deck — feels so right. It feels right to be away from them — to have this time by myself, to work and think and BE — and then to happily welcome them home after school. I guess what I’m saying is that it’s as good as I knew it would be.
Now I’d better get back to work. Two o’clock will be here before I know it. 😉
2 Comments on “First day of school = a very happy mommy”
So what do you think?
As featured on …
Heather's Handmade Life 
Very nice. Made me smile. “Funny how most mom’s feel that way”.
I think that was me driving the bus, LOL.
LikeLike
Haha it was actually Mr. Jim! It would be cool if you were our driver, though!
LikeLike