It’s mid-late August and all the teachers have been prepping their rooms for weeks. When I was a classroom teacher, it was about this time every year when I would start having nightmares about students’ desk tags having misspellings. I would also develop an eye twitch that would last until nearly Columbus Day.

I still get the eye twitch—just likely from chronic dehydration and lack of sleep. 

This year is a big one. My baby is heading off to kindergarten. He’s my wild child. Both the bus driver and kinder teacher are in for a wild ride. I think she’s retiring in a couple of years and I hope he doesn’t force her into an early retirement. If anyone could do it, it’s him..

He’s…an outdoor cat. IYKYK

I’ve been waiting for this for years. In 2020, when my oldest started kindergarten through a Chromebook, this very same teacher remembers me bouncing a newborn while begging for McK to mute her damn zoom call. She saw me get spit up on more than once. And I’m pretty sure she caught an unfortunate diaper change when McK moved her camera. She laughed it off as only a teacher who has seen it all can do. She’s everything you hope for in a kindergarten teacher.

And now, that baby is off to school with the big kids. He’s so excited. I’m so excited. Even the teacher is so excited to see so many of those Covid babies lurking in the backgrounds of zoom calls entering her classroom. She remembers many a funny T incident as she was recalling today.

At last, we are finally all in one school with one schedule instead of three. The elementary school and daycare/PreK split was killing me…logistically and financially. They will all have the same days off, same half days, same spirit days…I’m thrilled.

I’m also a little sad. It’s the last time one of my kids will have their big first day of school. It’s the last first bus ride. It’s the last first school lunch. It’s the last first meet the teacher. It’s the last confetti under the pillow.

Thanks kindergarten teachers. It’s bittersweet for sure.