Suddenly Six!: Mother of Preschoolers

I am absolutely giddy right now.

Fall is here and the routines have started, and I am officially in a new season of life.

Don't misunderstand me, the summer went as well as it could possibly go...and it was the best one yet with the kiddos.

But...we did everything we could possibly do.

A highlight of the summer: A cowboy birthday party complete with ponies!

Caleb LOVED the pony

I was so desperate towards the end of the summer that I let my kids play at Fred Meyer

There were no more parks to visit or PB and J picnics to be had. Like the changing seasons, we needed something fresh and new.

Preschool.

Yes, ALL my children are enrolled in preschool. (well, Evie will proudly tell you “pre-k PLUS!)

Evie goes to a fantastic preschool near by and when I dropped her off last year, I always took one of the boys with me. For the boys, going to preschool was a privilege and something that was highly anticipated. When it was "their day" they excitedly raced into the car to see Evie off. They cried when they had to leave the colorful, interesting classroom.

So when I found out there was a 2 1/2 preschool program, I took three spots.

Preschool has been talked about and anticipated all summer. Now that it’s their turn to actually stay in the classroom and hang their back packs and coats on their own hooks and have their own name tags, they are beyond excited.

I started prepping them for the start of school several weeks ago. I took each boy out to the store individually to pick out their new back pack. This ceremony ordained them as official preschoolers. They strutted around the house for days wearing their treasured back packs, ready to start.

Evie goes to Pre-K Mon-Thurs morning; the boys go Tues and Thurs mornings.

I have two mornings a weeks when I load up all the kids, herd them into school, and drop them off by myself. A year ago, this task seemed unimaginable and completely impossible.

Yesterday I did it for the first time.

Once we arrived, James was off playing with trucks and talking to another boy even before I had a chance to pin his name tag on and say good bye. Caleb looked around enthusiastically, gave me a hug and off he went exploring the room.

Levi, however, screamed in terror at the realization of being left. He clung to my leg as the teachers lovingly talked and convinced him to say good-bye. Apparently he was fine as soon as I exited.

Evie was a great help to me, buckling boys into their seats and making sure they followed me through the busy parking lot. She walked into her new classroom like she was casually coming home. She gave me a quick obligatory hug and immediately started chatting to her friends and partaking in the activities spread out around the classroom.

I saw so many moms and parents I knew from last year, as well as people from our neighborhood and gym. It's truly a community place. It was so nice to visit and catch up.

As I walked out of that school to an empty van, I marveled at the realization that I had just dropped all four kids off.

I decided that since it was such a beautiful day I would go on a run through some parks and nature paths. I didn’t even listen to music but simply enjoyed the silence of fall. The once busy playgrounds were now eerily empty. The sun wasn’t beating down, but instead a crisp stillness enveloped me.

As I ran, the beautiful silence was suddenly interrupted by crying children and babies. I came upon a “stroller strides” exercise class. There was a pack of tired moms in yoga pants, with their double strollers, pacifying cranky kids with toddler snacks as they desperately tried to get a workout in. I sensed their exhaustion and their support for each other, and the burden of doing life with babies attached.

A quick but astounding thought passed through my mind: "I’m past that"

"This isn't a season I can relate to anymore."

This thought was shocking to me. Absolutely shocking. I suddenly realized that I no longer identified with this newly post pregnancy stage of tending to small babies.

I no longer identified with the strollers, and bottles and the feeling of keeping someone alive who was so small and unpredictable.

I was in the next stage.

A mother of preschoolers.

As I ran past them, all these feelings and thoughts came flooding over me as I remembered that not-to distant time as a mom of a newborn (or three newborns!) How quickly now I’m in the next stage.

Summer 2014: Th3 babies and a toddler

And it feels so incredibly good.

Needless to say, the time between drop off and pick up went wayyyyy too fast. I was actually really worn out from gathering them and their belongings from their classrooms, convincing them to follow me through the parking lot (and leaving the playground), getting them situated into their car seats in the van and then unloading them and feeding them lunch before hauling them upstairs for rest time. Whew. Even though I'm in the next stage, exhaustion still exists.

My kids still really need to be taken care of, but I do see things changing in a big way.