Bye-Bye, Loves

Schools all over the country are starting, although I personally can't think of any reason why they should start before Labor Day. I've heard that they want to end early because it's so hot in June. Well, August is no picnic temperature-wise either. The reason I'm bringing this up is that I've heard several conversations on the radio about whether it's okay to be glad your kids are going back to school. This question sounds like someone trying to make trouble. I was a full-time mom and I loved it. It was fun, exhausting and stretched my creative capabilities to the max. But it's a 24/7 job and sanity required some breaks in the schedule. I heard one woman say that our children are precious and we should want to be with them all the time. Years ago, I was shopping with my 3-year-old daughter, getting new shoes for the start of pre-school. An elderly woman scolded me for sending her to school so young, saying, "You only have five years with her until she'll be away all day." I smiled and swallowed my reply. I was afraid she'd call child welfare if I told the truth, which was that this child is the joy of my life but she's a whole lot of work and I'm looking forward to sharing some of that joy with others. It was three hours, three days a week, and she loved it. I don't think it damaged her psyche. During the girls' elementary years, around the beginning of May I'd find that I was totally sick of the intense, unrelenting schedule we lived with. I wanted summer to come as much as they did. The first few weeks of freedom were glorious. There wasn't much in the way of summer activities then and we were happy with the relaxed schedule. Then, a couple of weeks into August, the girls were bored and I'd had it up to here with free-form living. I couldn't wait for school to start. My husband's take on this was, "Nothing makes you happy, does it?" Luckily for him, he said it with a grin. I have always loved those girls with every fiber of my being and would do anything for them. But I needed some time for myself and that happened when they were in school. So, NO! There's nothing wrong with you if you're happy to wave good-bye as the school bus pulls away. Throw a party! Dance around the house! Celebrate!