This One Mom Isn't Looking Forward to Back to School

It is only two weeks away. Fourteen short days from now, my son will be in school full-time for the first time ever. First grade is a big change for him, but at the moment, I’m stuck dwelling on the end of summer blues.

I can’t believe it is almost over. Lots of moms I know are thrilled to return to a “normal” schedule and have the family’s routine back into place. I’m not.

Fall used to be my favorite season of the year. I love hayrides and pumpkin patches. I love the crisp, cool air. I love digging out snuggly flannel pajamas. I love football.

But, now, I know what fall means. It means my kids have to go back to school. Until now, I could console myself knowing it was just for a few hours. For both pre-K and Kindergarten, my son was only gone for half days. Now, well, now it is all day long.

I’m going to miss my little guy. I love summers. The weather just screams for you to get out, get active and have fun.

We’ve had a good summer. We went to Disney World for our first time ever. The kids had a blast, and loved every single minute of it, from the second they woke up until the late hour in which they crashed, usually in the back of the rental minivan on the ride home from the parks.

We camped. We got to teach them how to make S’mores, walk outside the chairs to be safe and to enjoy sleeping under the stars.

We played for days and days at the YMCA’s outdoor pools. We splashed and sprayed. We rode slides. We basked in the sun.

We had season passes for Six Flags Great Adventure. We spent a few beautiful summer days spinning ourselves silly on the teacups, plunging up and down on every super hero ride imaginable. We had a blast in the fun house, throwing up foam balls to our hearts’ delight.

We went to the beach. We walked along the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, Del. We had saltwater taffy and Grotto’s Pizza. We dined at the Green Turtle and seafood at Crabby Dick’s (yes, giggles were nonstop).  We even got some old-time photos done, in full gangster gear.

I watched my brother get married, traveled to New York for training, headed to Virginia for my Sisters’  Weekend and even a weekend at Awesometown, camping.

It has been a really great summer. It has been a busy summer. But it was wonderful.

Now, the leaves will change, and so will the seasons. We’ll bury ourselves in homework, between football practices and grabbing dinner on the fly. It’s time to get our noses back to the grindstone.

I already miss summer. I plan to make the very most of the next 14 days, but I already dread its end.

I love summer. I love my kids. I’ll work on making the best of fall, but I already can’t wait for the next 250 days or so to go ahead and fly by, so we can get to next summer.

In the meantime, I really don’t want anyone to ask me how “excited” I am for school to start back up…