Gearing Up for Back to School

CEO of the House

by Laurie McDermott

Summer is ending and so are the long nights of "I'm not tired," early mornings of "I'm tired," and the endless days of "Mom! I'm bored!" A long summer with kids at home with Mom is stressful - the screaming, the crying and the yelling (and that's just Mom): "Don't touch him!" "Leave him alone!" "That's not a bug catcher, that's my purse!" I'm a broken record till the end of summer. That's why shopping for school supplies is a task I anticipated with glee and dread. Glee 'cause soon my oldest will be gone all day! Dread 'cause soon my oldest will be gone all day!

It was early morning when I took my soon-to-be-a-first-grader son to the store to buy school supplies and new shoes. Five minutes after entering Wal-Mart and wandering around the giant building, I realized I left the school's list in the car. "Mom, I know what I need...pencils, crayons..." (Doesn't it make you crazy that you have to buy a box of new crayons even though you have eight thousand other ones in pieces at home?) I ran out to get my list, and as we neared my car, I couldn't find my keys. I searched my pockets, my purse, even my son's pockets (I've been known to stuff things in there), but my keys were nowhere to be found. I was just about to call AAA when I noticed my doors were unlocked. "Mom," my son said as I opened the door. "Thank goodness I came back to the car," I thought. I smiled to myself as I saw my little beauties: Grocery list on the front seat, keys in the steering wheel.

"Mom?" What was that noise? Why was my car making a strange noise? "Mom...is the car still on?" YES! Not only did I leave my keys in the ignition with the doors unlocked, but I left my car on as well! AND...my six year old noticed before I did!

I stared at my child. He stared at me. A horrible thought came into my brain: This is the beginning...I'm going to be old! It's only a matter of time! I'm going to be the old lady with 50 cats that desires small sweet hard candy, and he'll be the son that's too busy to write, call or visit. It's only a matter of time before he's dating, driving, going to college, getting married and having his own babies, while I'm starring at my reflection wondering, "Who's that old lady in my mirror?"

"Mom, are you okay?" I looked down to my bewildered son who looked so small compared to that manly vision I'd just had of him.

"Mom! Let's goooo! I need crayons!" My still little boy started to whine. Never had I treasured hearing that whine before. It wasn't annoying. It was a reality check. Between all the screaming and yelling, these little kids of ours will be grown up and gone before we know what happened. While we're crazy busy, wondering how summer raced by before we got a chance to drive to the river, visit Mickey Mouse or use those $80 water park passes we bought but only used once, our kids will only be the age they are today, right now, only once. So before school starts again, turn off that computer, put down that remote control and spend some time hugging that kid who won't be a kid for very much longer.