Oh boy- It's back to school time

Yep- it's time for books, backpacks, buses...oh my! I'm writing this week about an unexpected life change I experienced almost one week ago when my youngest started kindergarten and my oldest started 2nd grade. Of course I knew in my mind that they would both be in school five full days per week for the first time and I wouldn't be juggling work on top of a preschool and elementary school schedule....but it really hit me at approximately 1pm on their second full day of school. It was a day of the week I normally work from home, I'd finished a busy morning of emails, calls, etc then went for a run over "lunch".....only to return to my home and realize I STILL had an hour and 1/2 before they were to be picked up.

This is when the all of the sudden, as if it weren't there before, the quietness of the house became apparent, then the realization that everything I'd picked up in the morning after they left stayed picked up, after that a very strange/new sensation came over me. A sensation of getting a tiny taste of freedom in the form of having nobody to answer to for the next hour and 1/2. My skin actually tingled. I know many of you without kids are reading this thinking, what in the heck is she freaking out about? All I can tell you is that as a busy working mother who manages everything that I do while living at warp speed, I've haven't felt that sense of freedom since I was in my 20's-(and I'm not saying how long ago that was). I think I was so caught up in the tears over my baby starting kindergarten, labeling school supplies, and the nerves over hoping my 2nd grader got the teacher he wanted that it never crossed my mind that on those coveted days I work from home I'd be....you got it....alone. Yes! I have myself all to myself for a few precious hours a week and it is strange, thrilling, and overwhelming all at the same time. The overwhelming part of that emotion comes from having sooooo many things I'd love to do and not knowing where to start. So for the first couple of weeks I'm going to use that time to work out harder/more often and catch up on household administrative "stuff". After that I have wonderful visions of reading, writing, taking time to market my side work that I enjoy, and maybe catching up with friends too. One thing for sure- it's a life change and it's also a HUGE opportunity to use that time to improve myself and treat myself well..... and you can bet I'm going to utilize every little minute of it!

Cheers to all the moms out there who have experienced this, who have been living with this bit of freedom for years already, and also for all the moms with tiny ones who can't even imagine the feeling of having all of your kids in school for 6.5 hours, 5 days per week:)