The first day of school for your first child is so emotional for most parents—especially for moms like us. For me, I still remember it clearly! I cried a month before and felt completely overwhelmed with so many feelings.
When it came to my own kids, I had originally planned to stay home with them until they started regular school, like Pre-K around age 4. But at just 2 years old, Matthew started showing signs that he craved a social life… lol.
He would always put on his shoes and stand in front of the door—basically telling me he wanted to go to the playground in front of our apartment.
As a first-time mom with all sorts of worries, I took it the wrong way. I thought, Maybe he's not happy being home with me. I could totally see that he wanted more, so I made the decision to go back to work and enrolled him in nursery school.
On his first day, we both cried. He cried first. I told him, “I’ll be back to pick you up,” and left quickly. I didn’t want him to see me crying too—it would’ve made him more nervous. After I left, I cried on the way out.
About 10 minutes later, his teacher sent me a picture of him playing with toys and checking out the room. That gave me a huge sense of relief.
I don’t know how it is for other moms, but whether you're prepping school supplies for your first, second, or third child, it’s still emotional.
Sure, it gets easier, but you may still get hit with a mix of feelings—excitement, pride, worry, fear... and that strange ache of watching your child take one more step away from you.
While I was writing this, I thought of a mom I saw at Target. She had a shopping cart full of dorm stuff. At the checkout, the cashier asked, “Getting ready to send your kid to college?” And through her tears, she said, “Yes… I’m sending my last one.”
In that moment, I truly felt what it must be like for a mom when no more kids are left at home.
After years of a busy, kid-filled life… suddenly, it's just quiet.
That reality hit me hard, even as I stood there buying school supplies for my 4th grader and kindergartner.
I know I still have many years before that day comes—but it will come.
So I told myself: As long as I’m still on active mom duty, I’ll do my best to make good memories for all of us. While they still need me. While we still have this time together.
That night, I told my husband about what I saw at Target and how it made me feel. And being the lovely husband that he is, he said,
“Don’t worry! We can just sell the house and move wherever they go, so we can stay close to them…”
Me: “Yeah, right.” Rolls eyes and walks away… lol.