Carolina ready for school!

Well, I can’t believe summer vacation is over and my baby (8th grader!) returns to school today. Where did the summer go?  I am one of those parents that never likes it when school starts and summer ends (not too sure there are many of us around). Especially living in Florida, where school starts in mid-August. I grew up in NJ, and I always started school after Labor Day. This always made sense to me, as it was September already and the weather had started to cool off a bit. But living in Miami where it is still brutally hot in August, the last thing you want to think about is sending your child back to school, when they should be out swimming. By the way, I’ve never understood why different parts of the country start their school years at different times. And don’t even get me started on year-round schools.  I know many of you will disagree with me, but I’ve always thought that kids need a long summer break, to enjoy family visits with cousins and grandparents, summer camps, vacations, day trips to museums, etc. And for those kids that do enjoy school, after a few months, they’re ready to go back and start the routine all over again.

While I welcome some alone time, I miss my daughter terribly at the start of every school year. And it doesn’t help that we just got back from our family vacation last night (more posts on that trip in the coming weeks). I love the spontaneity of summer and having free time to enjoy with my daughter, whether it be to sleep in late, or spend the day at the beach, without all the schedules. I have never liked schedules. Now mind you, my daughter does not feel this way. While she thoroughly enjoys her summers, she has always loved school too (thankfully). So she’s ready to go back. The back to school blues only affect mom in my family! I reminisce on the great memories we made as a family over the summer…the laughs, the trips to the ice cream shop, the family visits and the late night movie marathons! And every year I realize…one more summer down, not many more to go.

So, I would like to remind my fellow parents out there, do not long for school to start because you’re tired and need alone time.  One day, in the blink of an eye, it will all be gone and your school aged kids will have become adults.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed the summer with your kids.  How does your family handle back to school time? I’d love to hear!