Hung With Care.
As you likely know, by my relentless countdown since the last day of school in June, my kids start PreK (Miss A) and Kindergarten (Mr T) on Tuesday.
This will be the 1st time both kids are out of the house 5 days a week at the same time, in the same school. They are excited. I am excited.
I came up with a little poem to express my feelings on this. I do hope you enjoy it.
‘Twas The Night Before School Starts
by Kim
Completed on 09/05/10
‘Twas the night before school starts
In a suburban colonial
I sat down with my iPad
To write my testimonial.
~
The backpacks were hung
On the hooks of the door
Filled with water bottles, crackers,
Glue sticks and more.
~
The children were tucked away
Snoozing in bed
While memories of summer days
Ran through their heads.
~
The TVs were off
And so was the light
I savored dark silence
For it was finally night.
~
A time of reflection
On years that have gone
For tomorrow my babies
Will be away all day long.
~
I leaned over the screen
Took a swig of my beer
Then wiped clean with my sleeve
A grin ear-to-ear.
~
After three months of day camps
Long days and late nights
Tiring trips with the family
To see lots of sights.
~
Expensive gymnastics
Sweaty days at the park
Hours in beach traffic
Getting home way past dark.
~
Scraped knees in the driveway
Bug bites on their cheeks
Sunburned necks and ears
From that day by the creek.
~
The summer was long
And at times, a fright
But I looked down that tunnel
And kept my eye on that light.
~
My gaze fell to the counter
And what should appear?
But the crumpled-up list
Of required school gear.
~
Notebooks, a smock
Pencils, Tape and some string
Why don’t my high taxes
Cover all of these things?
~
Paper towels and Lysol
Can of juice and a snack
There’s no way my poor kid
Can carry this all on her back.
~
So the first day of school
I’ll patiently carry
The art stuff, food, cleaners,
And supplies that are varied.
~
The next day outside I’ll wait,
Wave and smile, I must
But when the school door closes
You can all eat my dust.
~
My husband made me promise
To look down at my feet
And try not to skip
When crossing the street.
~
See, some moms hug longer
And can’t help but cry
When their kids follow their teachers in
While waving goodbye.
~
There’s tissues and red eyes
It can be quite a scene
They don’t want to let go…
But you should know that’s not me.
~
For me it’s been 5 years waiting
Babies, toddlers and tedium
I’ve paid all my dues
And now School Time’s my freedom.
~
I’ll go to Starbucks alone
Without yelling “NO!”
As my kids tackle the display
While I order To Go.
~
I’ll go grocery shopping
And hum to myself
Since there’ll be no one else there
To grab things off the shelf.
~
After morning drop-off
I’ll go right back home
To finally be uninterrupted
While using the phone.
~
No more endless pit-stops
Waiting for the kids to pee
In filthy public bathrooms-
It’ll only be me!
~
I’ll run all my errands
Be done in record time
And still have an hour
That is completely mine.
~
So when I pick them up
At the end of their day
I won’t be so stressed.
I’ll want to play.
~
The fridge will be stocked.
No dish in the sink.
My hair cut and shiny.
My nails painted pink.
~
I’ll be ready for them.
Have energy, too.
Because I have time to be me
While the kids are at school.
~
When the kids have their own lives
And I get to have mine
At the end of the day,
We’ll be better than fine.
~
So line up those backpacks,
And kiss your kids’ cheeks.
Happy School Days to all
And to all a good week!
I love it!!
I love you Kim!!! This entry made me laugh, nod my head in approval, and high five you through cyberspace. And its exactly how I feel with Aviv – I enjoy her so much more when she gets back home. Some people ask me if I miss her during the day, and I feel so guilty when I say no…. I mean, I love her, but I love me some quiet time!!
(High-fiving you right back!)
Haha wow- I love your sense of humor! It was a touching poem- yet it made me laugh
Hope the kids have a wonderful school year and enjoy “your time” while they’re at school 
Love it! I hope your plans of self indulgent me time work out. Moms totally deserve that!
Congratulations, get your mani pedi at a nice place that might not double as a sensual massage parlor. You’ve earned it.
Thanks everyone – today is the Big Day, and I’ll be getting all mani/pedi’d while they get back to learning. (no sensual massages, don’t worry)
Woo hoo!
I love your poem! And your daughter’s princess backpack. =)
Thanks! She requested princesses and sparkles, and Mr T found that one at Target. She was THRILLED.
This is a great poem! I bet you are excited again this year! Funny.
Soooo excited. My kids are bigger and louder than last year, so I am staring at the calendar, turning pages at midnight every night and throwing confetti each time I get a day closer…
Funny that I’m at the opposite end of the spectrum right now. I only imagine by the time kid 2 is ready for preschool, I’m be running down the street!
I have friends who are still sentimental about their babies going into PreK, and I do get it. But my kids now love school so much, that they hate when it ends in the spring and BEG me to start it again alllllll summer looooooong. It can’t start soon enough for us!
I was one of the mom’s with the hugs and long goodbyes, but I enjoyed your poetry just the same! It was fun but at the same time I think there is much to be said about knowing yourself and what you need to be the best mom you can be. It would be boring if we were all the same.
Agreed! I get sentimental for a second (they are growing up! so big! what happened to my babies!), then turn and skip down the road glowing with freedom. My kids love school so much that they ask every single day of summer for it to start again. I am nowhere NEAR as fun as school, and we all know it.
Okay, this is just awesome!!! Love it! My friend and I wrote a poem once for our boss who was retiring called Twas the Night Before Retirement. It wasn’t nearly as good as this. Nice job!
I was so ready last year for Miss A to Go Away 5 mornings a week. She thrives in school, and I needed a freaking break.
I’m glad you like it!
This was adorable. I was never one of those moms that cried at drop off. I used to think there was something wrong with me. The school offered a Boo-Hoo breakfast for the moms who needed Kleenex and moral support. I always called it the Yahoo! breakfast.
But kudos for us to recognize that we need time to ourselves so that we can be even better moms when we go to pick them up from school.
OMG, the “Yahoo” breakfast? I think I just died laughing. We need to go have coffee when our kids are in school. High-fiving each other while the other moms wipe away their tears.
That was awesome! Stopping by from The Lightning and the Lightning Bug
Thanks for coming by!
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This is AWESOME. Congrats on your impending freedom! Hope the days don’t get away from you and you can get stuff done on your own time with time to spare!
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Thanks, Monika!
Hallelujah, amen, sista! I still have one too young for school but I will be saving this for the day they BOTH go to school! Until then, a girl can dream!
One more year til both are in full day, and I am counting the minutes….