It’s that time of year and children are going back to school! Some parents couldn’t be more excited that summer madness with daycare and camps is over but others dread the days of car rider lines and packing lunches at midnight. As for me…this is the start of my first baby heading off to Kindergarten, so when I say “back to school” I am referring to myself!

That’s right, up until now I’ve lived as a work at home mom of two. I stay up until 3 am, take open-ended vacations during weekdays without ever having to request days off (let’s be honest, moms don’t get days off anyway). If I want to read books with my 3yr old snuggled up in bed with me until 10 am, I CAN! No one is telling be to be on time unless I have scheduled a meeting with them. And even then, I am rarely on time. I’ve worked hard to get my open schedule to work for me. I juggle working all night with “mommying” all day. We go to the park and Gammy’s house, and if we want to dress like princesses all day, we can! So while my wild little 5 year old couldn’t be more excited about lunches in a cafeteria and making new friends, I feel like it’s the beginning of a 12 years sentence to prison.

This is my own school years all over again and I have that sick feeling of people demanding commitment, punctuality, and organization….all of which are just NOT my strengths. Not to mention, I haven’t risen to dress at 6 am for 9 years! That was back when I used to teach and I caught every virus that went through my classroom (surely my daughter will be bringing those germs home to the family this year). The thought of only playing on weekends and school vacations is just depressing to say the least. So when I refer to “back to school” I’m not worried about my mini social butterfly, I’m trying to get over the butterflies in my own stomach…I’m just not ready to go back to school, but these are the sacrifices we make to be the moms that we are and raise the bright little functioning beings that we do. For any other moms out there sharing my fears, rest assured in knowing that we are all in this together!