There is something wildly misleading about a first-day-of-school picture.
Everyone is dressed.
Hair is done.
Backpacks are packed.
Shoes are on.
The kids are smiling.
And if you didn't know any better, you might look at that picture and think:
“Wow. They really have their lives together.”
😂
Please enjoy the photograph.
It may be the most organized we look all year.
We Actually Love the First Day
I know the first day of school can be incredibly emotional for families.
But in our house, there's usually a lot more excitement than dread.
This year, I have one heading into first grade and another going to daycare, and thankfully they both genuinely enjoy their “schools.”
Which means we tend to have the opposite problem on the first morning:
We're ready too early.
Like...
an entire hour too early.
Backpacks on.
Pictures taken.
Everybody ready to go.
And then we stand around looking at each other like:
“Well. I guess we live here for another 60 minutes.”
That first-week excitement usually comes with another very important tradition:
Donuts.
A stop at Yummy's Donut Palace—or two... or a few during the first week—is basically part of our back-to-school curriculum at this point.
Math.
Reading.
Glazed.
We're well-rounded.
Some families have elaborate first-day traditions.
We have donuts and an alarming amount of extra time.
Then I Come Home
And this is the part I've been waiting for.
Quiet.
Beautiful, glorious...
QUIET.
This summer, I've been balancing multiple businesses while having at least one child home with me much of the time.
I love my kids dearly.
I would also like to finish an email using the same train of thought I had when I started it.
Both statements can coexist.
So when everyone heads off to school and daycare and I finally sit down at my desk alone, I imagine this glorious moment where productivity immediately washes over me.
Nobody needs a snack.
Nobody needs me to find something they're standing directly beside.
Nobody is yelling “MOM!” from another room.
Nobody needs assistance with a crisis involving a toy that was perfectly fine 14 seconds ago.
This is it.
My moment.
I can finally work.
Except...
it's really quiet.
Apparently I Have to Find My Rhythm, Too
That's the funny part about back-to-school season.
We spend so much time preparing the kids for their new routine that we forget the whole household changes.
Their mornings change.
Our mornings change.
Their days change.
Our days change.
Suddenly the chaos you've spent all summer wishing would quiet down...
does.
And you miss it a little.
Not enough to immediately request that everyone come home, obviously.
Let's not get carried away.
Mama has things to do.
😂
I spent all summer trying to work around the noise.
Now I have to remember how to work without it.
And Then They Come Home
The backpack hits the floor.
Someone needs a snack.
There's a paper I need to sign.
Someone wants to tell me something.
Someone else is talking over them.
We're figuring out dinner.
There are clothes to prepare.
Baths.
Bedtime.
And suddenly the house sounds like itself again.
This is the rhythm we're learning now.
Not summer.
Not quite the school-year routine we remember from last year either.
Something new.
Because the kids are different this year.
Their schedules are different.
Our lives are different.
And maybe that's why trying to “get back to normal” never quite works.
We're not the exact same family that left school in May.
So We're Making a New Normal
Maybe we'll continue being ready an hour early.
I highly doubt it.
Give us a week.
Maybe lunches will always be packed the night before.
Again...
let's manage expectations.
Maybe every evening will run smoothly, everyone will eat a balanced dinner, backpacks will be placed neatly by the door and all papers will be signed immediately.
I'm sorry.
I couldn't even type that with a straight face.
But eventually, we'll figure out what works.
The kids will settle into their classrooms.
I'll settle back into my workdays.
We'll learn which mornings need more time and which evenings need fewer expectations.
And the thing that feels brand new right now will eventually become our ordinary.
Maybe finding our rhythm isn't about getting back to normal.
Maybe it's creating a new normal that fits who we are now.
For Now...
I'll take the cute pictures.
I'll pretend we're incredibly organized.
We'll get the donuts.
I'll enjoy my quiet workday.
I'll miss them.
Then they'll come home and make enough noise to cure that problem immediately.
And tomorrow morning...
we'll try it all again.
Preferably with donuts.
Kelsey's Corner is where I share the funny, messy, meaningful and usually slightly chaotic parts of raising kids, running businesses and building a life right here in our community.
— Kelsey
