First Week of High School – Done!

My oldest child strapped on his backpack and set out for the unknown world of high school this week, walking to the bus with a stride length that equals about three of mine. Like probably every mother on Earth watching her freshman son, I wondered how in the blink of an eye a child goes from clutching your leg at preschool with tears in his eyes to telling you it’s not necessary to show him where the bus stop is and, if you must, could we please do it a full 24 hours before school actually starts?

As the first week drew to a close, we both got a little more confident in his ability to make it just fine. OK, he was pretty much confident from the first day. I was the one imagining him wandering the halls, with no idea where his locker was or how to open it even if he did find it. This same child is hoping for a career in the military, so I guess I should learn to let go before I’m face to face with a drill sergeant.

I am actually not a particularly clingy mom, especially compared with some of the ones I know who get teary eyed when their kid goes up a shoe size. I fully admit I danced down the street when my youngest started full-day kindergarten last year, and I felt zero guilt for blissfully enjoying a lovely three days of no kids while they stayed with my mother-in-law in Indianapolis a few weeks ago. But there is something about your child going to high school that resonates a little deeper. Maybe it’s the realization that the next stop is college, the Marines or wherever his heart leads. Maybe it’s knowing he is even less under my watchful eye than just a few short months ago in junior high. Or maybe it’s just that from my vantage point, he is not all that far removed from the 4-year-old who begged me not to make him go to preschool.

I still have to go through the first day of high school three more times, with the last one still eight years away. By then I’ll be brushing up against – gulp! – 50, and our nest will be far emptier than it is now. Maybe I’ll dance again like I did when she went to kindergarten last year. But I’ll bet, like last year, I’ll be dancing with tears in my eyes.

Any advice you would like to share with this year’s new high school class?