Back to School: Savor the Moments
Today I asked my youngest son, my baby boy, if he would like to go school supply shopping on Thursday evening. His reply? “Not really. Can you just pick a few things up for me?”.
This afternoon we went to his primary care doctor for his sports physical for football. Of course, I no longer go back with him. I get to sign all of the paperwork and wait in the lobby. He grew an inch. He’s now 5’11, just one inch shy of six feet tall.
The Early Days
When my husband and I first got together and combined our families(his three and my three), life was chaotic. Six kids under one roof. Six enrollments to complete every fall. By the time we added one of our own to complete the “yours, mine, and ours” status, my oldest was almost 18 years old..so we never had all seven to enroll at once. It was quite the chore to come up with funds to pay enrollments and supplies for all of these kids. Luckily, the non-custodial parents helped out with school clothes.
Every year we struggled, and every year I dreamt of the day when August wouldn’t be such a mess. I still remember going out to Wal-Mart with all of the kids in tow and their school supply lists, trying to make sure we got everything.
We always did get everything, except that damned pink eraser. No matter how early we went, the pink erasers were always sold out!
Enrollment days were loads of fun, because we had to go to each individual school and complete paper enrollment forms for each child. Because the kids had such a vast range of ages, we had some in elementary, some in middle school, and some in high school. The process of enrolling them all took hours!
Of the seven kids, six of them participated in school sports at one time or another. Of course, this meant sports physicals had to be completed as well.
My daughter-in-law told me she’s having a hard time getting her second grader back into a bedtime routine in preparation for school next week. Imagine what that was like in our houseful of kids!
It was hectic, and I often wondered how we would ever make it through. Not only back to school, but all of the sports practices and games, school concerts, other extra curricular activities…trying to navigate all of this made me want to pull my hair out!
Where Did the Time Go?
As they grew and one by one left the nest, it began to sink in to me that maybe I didn’t stop to appreciate those days enough. When we only had two left in school, it really started to hit me. This stage of our lives was heading toward the finish line.
Today I paid the fees for my youngest son’s junior year. Enrollment is now completed online. We even ordered his new shoes online. My prediction is that next year, his final year of high school, I’ll be a quietly blubbering idiot.
At 52, I’m older than most of the other moms of his friends. He plays football. I’ll be at every game, probably sitting away from the crowd..but still just as proud and savoring every moment.
Tonight, he came into my room and told me that he thinks he “might” want to go out with me to get the school supplies on Thursday.
I hope he does. 🙂
