Tomorrow will be my last Back to School night, the final of 13 annual treks to school to get the lay of the land for the year ahead.
It is bittersweet.
Even as a mom I carry a childlike excitement about the start of school, with its new supplies, different teachers and vast stores of things to learn.
This year, I will surely not find out about the rules for quiet time in kindergarten, or how the kids will learn the solar system.
I will not get an overview of the second-grade butterfly life cycle project, which is mentioned in this decade-old Back to School note from Catherine.
Nor will I hear about the class ballet, or opera, or the trip to Boston. There will be no remarks about the new requirements and responsibilities of being in middle school. Or about the class trip to Washington, D.C.
Gone, too, are the “intro to high school” pep talks, the first blush of college search missions and the lowdown on the choral competition at Disneyworld.
Nope. Tomorrow, I will hear about forensics and statistics, Honors World Literature, psychology, advanced Spanish and the Honors Family Development class. I will also get a pep talk about the chorus’ February trip to Hawaii. And I’ll feel, one last time, like a salmon swimming upstream in the swarm of parents filling the halls during “passing time.”
Surely, I will again wonder how Catherine manages to get around and across the school in time for each of her classes.
This time, though, I might pause just a little bit at the end of the night for one extra beat, just to soak up the promise of this one last year.
Pushing on a Rope 
Just a note- Recently I was told by my eldest to focus on all her “firsts” left ahead and she would worry about her “lasts”. Not sure I can do that during her last year of college but I am trying.
Posted by Jacquie | September 23, 2013, 9:32 pmI know I couldn’t!! You’ll be focused on firsts and lasts both. She’ll get it one day!
Posted by Terri S. Vanech | September 23, 2013, 9:34 pmAgain- Salvatore/ Vanech reduces me tears.
Posted by Teresa Walsh | September 23, 2013, 8:35 pm🙂
Posted by Terri S. Vanech | September 23, 2013, 8:35 pmMy “baby” is 37 with kids of her own, and I still get a strong urge to buy school supplies. I can’t begin to count the number of pens, pencils and notebooks that have come into the house in September. I resisted this year! Well, sort of — got 2 folders and 2 notebooks at Five Below — total cost $3.00. I can use them for work — yeah, I can use them for work.
Enjoy the back to school night. Next thing you know it’ll be parents’ weekend at college… And you have a whole new opportunity to embarrass her.
Posted by Karen Waggoner | September 23, 2013, 7:04 pmI know!!!!
Posted by Terri S. Vanech | September 23, 2013, 7:53 pmOh, Terri! My girls are grown & yet I’m crying from your post. Yes, it’s one last time but it’s also a new adventure from here on out. I know you’ll weather it just fine & I hope you’ll take us with you on your journey! Reia from http://www.southcountrysides.blogspot.com
Posted by Reia Duncan (@reiaduncan) | September 23, 2013, 6:39 pmBut of course! Thanks for reading!
Posted by Terri S. Vanech | September 23, 2013, 6:45 pm