Emotions....

Good morning dear Reader.  

I  found an old post of mine that still rings true.  These precious bike riding children of mine are now all adults, (one is even a parent himself!) but the words and emotions stand contant.  Enjoy a reminising moment.  :)

~Laura

 Life in our household has been filled with so much emotion! I never quite understood why other Mom's got so emotional about their kids going back to school in the fall. It has never affected me the way that it seems to affect other moms. I tend to be very happy that they are going back to school. We all get the space from each other that we need, they get to learn new things and go new places. They get to be with friends and for me - that was a HUGE part of school!! Plus, I get the added bonus of going school supply shopping! I LOVE buying school supplies! It is one of my favorite things to do ~ so generally speaking, this is one of my favorite times of year! 

Until this year!! We decided that the children were old enough to ride their bikes together to and from school since we only lived a couple of blocks from the school. It would save me the gas plus the hassle of having to load up the 3 younger children into the van to sit and wait for four children to get their act together and get to the van. Besides - have you ever tried to get coats/mittens/hats on 3 children under the age of 3 in a timely manner?? It would take me at least 30 minutes to get everyone ready and all the while I was hoping and praying that the child that I dressed up first didn't get too hot in the get-up and started to strip it all off!! 

Not to mention the fact that after school, the younger children and I were meet by VERY annoyed older children who demanded we produce an after school snack the second they arrived at the van.  And heaven forbid they had to walk together from the school to the van and deal with a sibling who didn't walk as fast as the others thought that they should! What a mess! Can you see the why I would LOVE for them to ride their bikes home and get out some of these negative attitudes!?!?! 

That being said, they have been practicing this trip every day for a whole week, so that they would be prepared to make this trip without me fretting too much!  While they were gone I enjoyed the time I had with the little ones! I got to play with them without interruption and actually got some things done around the house! After an hour or two, the children would come home happy, energetic and ready to have a fantastic day! I unwisely thought that the following week would be grand!!!   It does help my fretting mind that my parents live inbetween our house and the school and that Grandpa is walking up and meeting them each morning and afternoon!!

 The big day arrives and everything goes according to plan. They follow the schedule with exactness and are out the door having given Mom many hugs and kisses at the appointed departure time. All is well, I thought! Life is superb!! Then came 9:00 and I received the call from my dad that the children had arrived safely and were on their way to have a fantastic day at school. I managed to finish the call calmly but once I had hung up the phone something totally unexpected happened: I cried!! 

 Now dear sweet reader, I beg you..no..I implore you to understand! I LOVE my children! I adore my children! But I also LOVE having time when I can think without having to listen to children crisis every two seconds! School time is sheer bliss! Imagine the suprise I felt in response to the abundance of tears that fell once I was off the phone! Not only did tears fall that morning, but an intense jealously welled up inside myself at the close of the school day when I realized that my awesome & wonderful Daddy would be the first person to see my children's faces when they exited the school for the first time as 5th, 3rd, 2nd & 1st grader's! WOW! I could never imagine such strong emotions and I must apologize to all you moms out there in the world that experience this type of emotion reguarly! I always thought you were a bit soft. Now having had this experience, I tip my hat to you more emotional seasoned moms!! 

Anyone else out there expeience this sort of thing?? Do tell please! :) 

 ~Laura