I was at Target by 9:30 yesterday morning, one folded laundry load, a mopped floor and a pot of coffee already behind me. I came alone despite requests for tagalongs because I had important business—The Back-to-School Packed Lunch List, one third the holy trinity of grocery shopping lists, ranking (let’s be honest, a huge lag) behind Thanksgiving Dinner and Christmas Day. We prepare for this week like a hurricane. Peanut Butter? Check. Sandwich Bags? Check. Pirate’s Bootie, Fresh Fruit, Pretzel Sticks? Check, check, check. Like always, I take advantage of my time alone in the car and call Heidi, continuing my conversation with her—phone awkwardly pinned between my chin and shoulder—as I find a parking spot, throw my keys in my purse and walk to the entrance.
I can’t help but immediately notice the long trail of shoppers in line at the adjoining Starbucks.
“Oh my God,” I tell Heidi, “So much for my latte, the line to the Starbucks counter is out the door.”
“Um, that’s because right now moms everywhere are EXHAUSTED.” She doesn’t even have to use the expletive I would have wedged in there, it’s woven into her tone.
She’s right. It’s a trail of moms wearing yoga pants and ponytails and all too familiar expressions of I’d-travel-to-the-ends-of-the-earth-for-my-kid, fetching espressos before they hunt down that last specific thing on their list—blasted yellow 2-inch binder, overpriced graphing calculator that’ll never be used again, composition notebook in the only color the store doesn’t carry.
I continue my conversation with Heidi at the deli counter until I realize I’m being rude and hang up so I can show the butcher how thin I want my salami without putting everyone on hold. He gives me the wrapped sliced salami—first item on my list—and I set it in the seat of my cart, the place where Nella would be sitting had I not been on a kids-free mission to make everything right with the world before school starts.
Salami, one notch in my belt. Followed by kiwi, a new fancy cereal, the bread Lainey likes, Lysol wipes off Dash’s classroom list and stickers for Nella’s teacher—the high-priced ones because once they caught my eye, all I can think about is how googly-eyed hamburgers are going to make those kids’ day.
I come home and put the groceries away. Organize the pantry. Iron clothes and pin related arts schedules on the cork board in the laundry room. Check to make sure the first day forms are all signed and in folders and then check one more time just in case I missed something. There’s not enough espresso in the world to fuel this job—not so much getting ready for school, but the underlining one this represents…getting them ready for life.
Later in the afternoon, I sit down to edit some pictures. Brett walks over to my desk, squeezes my shoulder and says, “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For all that you’re doing getting ready for school. It’s a lot of work.”
I tear up because it feels so good to be validated by him for it and I tear up because I’m a mom and I’m doing that mom thing of holding up the dam—the one that’s always just a first day of school, another “Happy Birthday” chorus, a drive home from college drop-off away from breaking.
We won’t always be this prepared, of course, but there’s something about that first week. I just want to start the year on the right foot.
To make that first impression.
Momentum to set the tone.
It will add up, this thing we do year after year of finding the right gym shoes and writing love notes for the lunch box and waiting in line at Starbucks before heading to the jungle of the backpack aisle. All these years, all these first days, all these tears we wipe from the parking lot because the beast of time cannot be tamed—they’ll compress to form a tiny sliver. A small space in their lives, a great space in ours. Eighteen years to equal one step into all that the future holds.
And I just want to start them off on the right foot.
(First day of preschool, third grade…Dash starts tomorrow.)
Back to School Party pics coming tomorrow.
Happy First Day of the Week, friends. Here’s to starting on the right foot.
For more back-to-school ideas, I’m over at eHow this week sharing school lunch box love note ideas.
The other day I was sitting there, not knowing how in the world I’m going to send my oldest girl (I have three) to kindergarten in two weeks. Your post from years ago, when you sent Lainey to kindergarten, popped into my head. I thought “wow! I’m there now!”. Looks like you guys made it through, we will too (I hope!)
So sweet how Brett came up and gave you some well-deserved kudos. I know us moms don’t need that recognition because hey, we are just doing our job, right? But it sure feels good when it’s given (especially by our spouse!) School starts for us next Monday. I’m not even going to say I’m a little bit ready. I’m not ready at all, and the kids remind me of this daily. “When are we going school shopping!” they all say to me. Normally I homeschool grades 1-4. This cuts back tremendously on the whole “back to school” shopping chaos. But his year, because I am expecting a special needs baby at the end of November, I’ve decided to put all the kids in school. That means seven back to school shopping trips….between now and next Monday. LOL Ah, fun times. Fun times.
That picture of your girls is precious!! Hope you all have a great school year! Always love reading your blog!!
Oh, yes….the trials and tribulations of sending kids to school. With three in University this year we not only need the right everything as listed above…but the list now includes….laptops, car tanks full of gas, towels, kitchen items, apartment size freezer, rolls of coins for the laundry, bedding ….. I am sure I am forgetting something(s) and will have to bring them down the first weekend I can no longer be apart from my three boys.
Enjoy every moment….for in a snap of the fingers… they are off on their own and only call/text/facetime when they need money! 🙂
crying here in NY! Dreading first day blues, 4 of mine are off to school, leaving 1 dumpling at home. We are 2 weeks off, but I’m feeling pretty organized.. except for the million things on my list still do do of course argh Happy First Day to everyone!
My kids are no where near the ages of “back to school” but this rings true to anything in life…we as moms just want things to be right. I needed to read this and feel like it completely relates to any aspect to motherhood. So beautiful, thank you for reminding us we are not alone!
Love sitting down for a break in the afternoon and checking your blog…always makes me smile 🙂 Happy first day to you you and the girls..and sweet Dash tomorrow 🙂
I love first day pix! And you’re right, something about having it all together to start fresh, to start well. I know it will completely fall apart at some point but that ONE DAY let it be perfect. Especially since I’m letting them go — since I can’t help them at any point during that scary first day, at least I can get them out the door perfectly. Yes.
In all that lovely writing the one thing that popped was the vision of you driving chatting on the phone. Please Cell free zone in the car!!. What an old curmudgeon I am.
Me too! It’s also illegal where I live (BC, Canada) and the police especially crack down on it at back to school time so I kept thinking that Kelle was lucky that she didn’t get a ticket….forgetting, of course, that Florida is about a million miles away from where I live, LOL!
Thank you so much for reminding me of all those beautiful times. They went by so quickly. I didn’t have time to love what I had. So great to remember that others are still going through those crazy gorgeous times. Sigh. Cheers!
I love LOVE reading your posts. Somehow I feel like I am right there with you. But I have to admit that i failed this year. My son started his senior year today and all I took was a picture. You are truly AWESOME! xo
I’ve enjoyed reading your blog for many years, and I can’t believe how incredibly fast time seems to go. I remember reading shortly after you gave birth to Nella. Now, I’m watching them all start school. Your posts always make me smile because I feel like I can relate most of the time.
I am sure i sound like a party pooper but i am also pretty sure the conversation can wait til you are not driving….
I just love you and how you always so eloquently put my feelings in to words. Here’s to another latte!
I’m right there with you on wanting to send our kids out on the right foot with everything ‘just so’…however, I think we need to use caution in making sure we don’t get so taken over by ‘events’ that we turn into those exhausted looking, yoga wearing, Starbucks guzzling Moms. Here in NY, school doesn’t start for another 3 weeks, and we did the school shopping marathon trip last Saturday, but it was a marathon because we took it really slow, made a lot of unnecessary side trips, and ended up having a lot of fun. Added bonus: there weren’t more than two people at the counter at the Starbucks at my Target, so maybe starting a little earlier would beat the crowds and help you avoid the stressed out last minute crowd?
My husband and I split up the task of uniform shopping this year–he got the boys, I had the girls. Except that he called me from Wal-Mart about to have a melt down because the store was destroyed, and “there are no school pants here. Anywhere.”
So I met picked them up, and I had the grand adventure of shopping with 6 of our 8. By the end, I was just holding up pants: “Looks like they fit!” and tossed them into the cart. Then had to custom order pants from Lands’ End for the 13 yo who refuses to stop growing but is skinny. My husband was very happy with me. And I, I was accomplished! 😀
Seems like yesterday that I was crying along with you on Lainey’s 1st day of Kindergarten… or was it 1st Grade? Time flies and All of your Babies are growing into bigger people. Hugs, Kelle
She hopes the program will give away 4,000 pairs of shoes with its expansion to include students entering fourth and fifth grades, eligible students enrolled in the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency’s WoodsEdge Learning Center, as well as pre-kindergarten through fourth-grade students in Comstock Public Schools. For Gail Burton, whose son will be attending Arcadia Elementary School in the fall, the First Day Shoe Fund is simply a good organization that does what it can to help pupils and parents.
Oh my gosh! My daughter has a lunchbox just like Lainey’s lunchbox! Sometimes the back-to-school days can be hard.