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The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Oh, I can smell them in the air – freshly sharpened pencils, paper just out of the package, fresh-cut hair on the kiddos. Yes, it’s back to school.

It’s no secret that I’m not a huge fan of summer. No, I crave routine, structure, predictability. Summer is, well, anything but that. We’ve had an insane little summer full of writer’s conferences, hockey camp, visiting family and Army Kid Camp, all while juggling visitations for our foster daughter and planning our upcoming PCS.

But it’s coming – crisp fall mornings warmed by coffee, the kiss of an eager child out the door for his first day. So are the after-school hugs, when the boys are excited to see each other after being separated all day. The dinner conversations that bounce between them like a ball, the animated hands as they tell each other, and us, how each of their days went. There’s nothing more precious to me than those moments, when they show their individuality, the moments they exist outside this house. It’s when they’re separate that we get to see who they really are.

The start of school feels more like a new year to me than New Year’s day. It feels fresh with possibility. As the kids embrace their new challenges, we do too. My husband is headed to Advanced Course, and then he’ll complete the rest of his college classes to finish his bachelor’s degree. I’m tinkering with the idea of heading back for my master’s degree, well, if there were another four hours in the day. But with the start of school, opens up a few more of those kid-free hours, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to that a little bit.

With a few short hours, I can work on a new novel, edit an existing one, heck, go for a much-needed run. I have more time to dedicate to our little gal, and hey, when I clean the kitchen after breakfast, it might actually stay clean until after school! Yes, I love my kids. I love being a mom. I love board games and playdough. But I also have to love myself so I can be the best mom possible. Those precious hours where there’s just the two of us girls in this house give me time to relish quiet so I can enjoy the loud later. They let me get my work done so I don’t have to say, “One more minute,” to my precious, tiny humans.

PCS’ing mid-school year is a wee bit tricky, but these hours they’re away help me prep for that too, so I can give them the smoothest transition possible, when and if we clear up our foster-daughter’s future.

Sure, the mornings are early, the lunches are pre-planned, and the pace can be grueling. After all, with the start of school comes a new hockey season and a new year of Boy Scouts. But there’s something about the fall that inspires me and brings organization to the forefront of my cluttered brain. I miss my kids during the day. I wonder what they’re doing, how they’re acting, what they’re up to. But those hugs I get when they run back through our doors? Those are precious. Hearing them tell me about what they learned, the friends they’ve made, seeing them thrive - that’s what the new school year is about to me.

So welcome back to the alarm clock, the automatic brew on the coffee. Welcome back hoodies and turning leaves. Welcome back to yellow busses, new backpacks and school supplies.

We’re going to rock this school year.  

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