In life, there’s a season for everything, including motherhood. Just like winter transitions to spring, moms transition from diapers and bottles, to lunchboxes and little league, to learners’ permits and prom dates. There’s beauty and struggle in each season, and whether you’re looking fondly backward or eagerly forward, we’re here for all of it!
My name is Amy, I’m in the GRADE SCHOOL stage of motherhood, and I feel BORN FOR THIS!
Don’t get me wrong, babies and toddlers are cute, but grade school kids are my jam (so far, anyway)! I just entered my “golden year” of school where all three of my kids are in the same school at the same time (K, 3rd, and 5th), and I feel like Will Ferrell “just livin’ the dream”!
I no longer have to schedule around nap time, traded the trusty diaper bag for an even-trustier sling bag, and everyone can get themselves in/out of the minivan without my assistance.
I am happily saying ‘bye! to parent-chaperoned playdates and embracing the loosely-supervised neighborhood hangouts. I rejoice at the amount of baby/kid gear that I can give away on my local “buy nothing” page.
I’m a multi-tasker, type A, organizer by nature, so bring on the multiple sports schedules, music lessons, scouts, and other extracurriculars. You may find me coordinating a Girl Scout meeting, fundraising for the PTO, and putting MILES on my minivan while traversing the same weekly circuits.
My kids are becoming joyfully independent, developing their own tastes, friendships, and interests. They only roll their eyes at me *occasionally* and tolerate my presence on the periphery of their social lives.
They still ask a lot of questions, but instead of having to repeat myself and overstate the obvious, their questions are wonderfully random and insightful. At this point, I can confidently help with the homework and only have to Google answers every once in a while (“new math” is evidence that there is still evil in this world).
I know a lot of parents dread the puberty/sex talk, but I embraced the opportunity with my oldest, and by all accounts, it was successful (I’ve still got 2 to go, and therefore, still time to scar at least one of them).
It isn’t all rosy in the grade school stage (making friends and figuring out people is hard at any age, and mental health comes into play far earlier than any of us would like), but I’m savoring every day of it, even the difficult parts.
All too soon, there will be dating, driving, social media drama, and letter grades to contend with. But for now, I’m cheerfully showing up for the class parties, baseball tournaments, and field trips. Good thing I’m loving it, because, by my count, I’ll have had at least one foot in the grade school stage for twelve years …
