Twas the Night Before School...

A little over six years ago I quit my job to be a stay-at-home mom and it's been the best job I've ever had. Tomorrow marks the start of something new for me - uninterrupted free time. For the first time, both kids will be in school (Daniel is going two days a week). Not really sure how I feel about it all. In some ways I'm sad that the "baby" time is over but in others I'm thrilled to finally have time to focus on myself, my house, various projects and being able to go out to lunch with a friend and not have a child to drag along. I know it's a cliche, but time really does fly. It feels like yesterday I was dropping Allison off for her first day of preschool. And now, here we are three years later getting ready to do the same with Daniel. Six months ago I remember looking at Daniel and thinking "Is this kid really going to school in 6 month? He's not ready for it." When in fact, I think I was the one not ready for it. As hard as it is to send the oldest one off to school for the first time, it seems that much harder to send the youngest. All I can do is pray that both kids adjust to the change. Jeff asked me tonight "Which kid are you more worried about tomorrow?" I thought about it but couldn't figure out who would handle it better. On the one hand, Allison has no desire to return to school. She is worried that first grade is going to be too hard (apparently her kindergarten teacher scared them all into thinking that). I think she has matured somewhat from last year and can handle change a little bit easier. It also helps that she knows so many more kids this year and is familiar with the school-day routine. Luckily, her classroom is right near the entrance to the school so she won't have to freak out about having to walk a long distance and be trampled by the bigger kids to get to her classroom. As long as we don't have a repeat of the beginning of last year, I think we'll be okay. And then there's Daniel. I must say, that kids has come a LONG way in the past year. He used to be scared to talk to a hole in the wall. He's still very cautious around people he doesn't know, but feels comfortable communicating with those he does know. I really have no idea how he is going to do. Some days I'd ask him if he was excited about school and he'd respond with a resounding "Yes!" and other days he'd shake his head and say "But you're not going to be there." When I tucked him into bed tonight, he seemed excited. We'll see what the morning has to offer. Wish me luck that all goes well tomorrow, I will certainly need it.