Starting First Grade

My daughter starts first grade tomorrow and I can't believe how much prepartation goes into getting ready for school. The class list alone it CRAZY! There is so much stuff and it all has to be labeled. I think I spent over an hours with a fine point Sharpie labeling away. But now it is all done. The backpack is full, the school clothes and shoes have been purchased, and we have started to implement the school time bed routine. My baby is ready to go to first grade, but what about me, am I ready for her to go to first grade. I don't know about you other moms, but kindergarten was tough for me, even though I am a working mom. I have to admit that I cried the first day of school seeing my little girl with her backpack in hand and climbing on the bus. I thought that this year would be easier, but as the day nears I might have been wrong. There is something about first grade that has me just as emotional as last year. Maybe it is that this is where the real learning begins. The classroom will not be focused on socialization, but rather learning math, science, reading, spelling, and all the other subjects.

I guess what it really boils down to is in my mind she is only about 2 years old and the time has just gone to fast. I'm sure you all remember your parents complaining about time flying and as a kid you thought could it go any slower. It seems you were always anxious for the next thing and it just couldn't come soon enough. Whether it was Christmas, or vacation, or our birthdays we just wanted it to get here and the time seemed to crawl. I didn't notice a shift in how quickly time passes until I had my daughter. From that moment forward it just seems to be moving 10,000 times the speed of light. And so in the end I think this is my real struggle. Not necessarily with school, but with the fact that my little girl is growing up too fast and I feel like I have missed out on so much, even though I've made every effort to move my schedule around her important events (track day, concerts, ect.)

For all of you moms, I'm sure you an relate. I sympathize with you and I will make sure to cherish today and to take in all the special moments with my children while trying not to let financial concerns and other "grown up problems" interfere in this joy. God bless all of you!