Back to School

photo by D Sharon Pruitt. some rights reserved.

Back to school time is always crazy at my house, even without a student in sight. My husband is a teacher, and so for years our lives have followed the school calendar.  Now that we've got two kids, the new year really does begin in September. January, you say? Yawn. Fall is what gets me going.

Everything is fresh and new in September. It starts with the sudden change from hot muggy weather to crisp cool air, this year arriving promptly on September 1. Then there are the new schedules (even the baby has her own commitments to put on the calendar now), new haircuts, new shoes (OK, so the baby didn't NEED new shoes, but she got them anyway), new pants without holes in the knees. By the end of the week, I'm planning all the new fun fall activities we can start: apple picking, leaf rubbing, cider drinking. . .

It's the same excitement and anticipation I feel about a new year of MOPS. Familiar faces, a return to an old routine, and so much to learn! It's no coincidence that MOPS is known as "school for Mommy" at my house.

So tell me, Moms of School-Age Kids (MOSAK?), how do you manage your households this time of year? Are you buzzing with excitement, sharpening pencils, and hole-punching paper like us? Or sadly setting alarms and abandoning your flip-flops?