Thankful for back-to-school carpool season

Oglorious day! I rejoice in the magnificent invention of the carpool. The sweet day has returned and I no longer shuttle our family brethren here and there, and to return again, and once more before the day is through. For carpooling, I am thankful as our first school week ends in our return to the great morning shuffle out the door.

It is because of the carpooling I sat at peace Tuesday morning in Campos my minivan, breathing in the yet untainted new-car aroma and wondering why I felt so calm in the beginning of what will surely be a busy school year. Oh yes, that’s right, my three are all at school. All day.

And I don’t have to pick them up. It’s a first ever for our family and I like it.

A lot of the moms I spoke with as the first day of school loomed with supply lists and haircuts on our to-do lists were apprehensive about this week. We were not ready.

We have not gathered their crayons and scissors. We have not accepted the end of summer.

Do the children really need to begin with a fully-stocked backpack for a mere few hours on the first (half day) of school? Do they really need that binder and its dividers ready to go? Probably not, but this Girl Scout must “be prepared” regardless, and instead of running to Wal-Mart on First Day Eve (as I believe I did last year), we shopped our home “art supply closet.” Between our stock on hand and what lay dormant in backpacks all summer, we almost completed our lists. I shopped for the few missing items in the next couple of days and success! What a great way to begin our year. It was all going so smoothly. Or so I thought.

Family life is so unpredictable. If there was one lesson I could glean from this Mom adventure, it would be: as much as you plan and prepare, life has its own plans. First week of school and I’m already at home with one sick child.

Those pesky bugs just couldn’t wait a full week to invade our home. Despite one child canceled from that holy grail of perfect attendance, she will make a return to health and classroom soon enough.

It might not be how we envisioned this week would turn out, but we made it through and I’m looking forward to seeing what else is in store for this year.