The idea is popular that all parents in the world celebrate their children's return to school with extreme joy and a glass of wine in their hands. But actually, back to school has different feelingsFor each family, each mother, each father and each child is different.
When everyone is celebrating that their children return to school, others have a harder time getting into the idea of separating ourselves from them again. That is why I liked the publication of a mother, in which she shares something with which we identify many parents: how difficult it is to let them go again at the beginning of another school year.
That is not the first time, does not mean that it is easier
Mia Carella is an American blogger and mother of two children. Like any mother, she loves spending time with her children and, like many of us, it costs her a little to separate from them, especially now that we are at the time of going back to school.
In an emotional post on her Facebook page, Mia explains how despite not being the first year she fired her daughter to go to school, it is still very difficult for her to separate herself from what she loves most in the world.
"I'm going to have you forever! You'll stay right here with me! There's no school for you!" I joked, while I hugged my daughter tightly and we laughed together.
"No, mommy! You don't stop me! I'll go to first grade tomorrow!" she answers me laughing.
"I know, my baby. I know ..."
They said it would be easier. They said that last year would be the most difficult, being the first time and all that. They said this year would be better; that I would be happy to see her go back to school after a long summer.
Well, no.
I don't know why I'm struggling so much with this. My little daughter is so excited to start school again. She missed her teachers so much, she can't wait to see them again every day. It's like going back to a year ago. It feels as raw and real as the first time I had to drop and send my daughter to the world in that yellow school truck.
Well no, it is not easier.
Preschool. First grade. Sixth grade. College. I don't see when this can be made easier for me.
Letting our hearts - our entire worlds - walk and go out into the world alone without us is never easy. We have to trust that the world will treat them as we would. Trust that they will have everything they need. Trust that we can release our grip, with which we think we hold everything together, and let them go. Let them grow. But, it's very difficult - one of the most difficult things I've done.
To all the mothers and fathers who are having trouble letting go this year, they are not alone. No, they are not. Hugs in solidarity, my friends. Lots of hugs.
Mia's words echoed loudly in me. I felt so identified when I read them, so understood. In a world where we see how parents euphorically celebrate that their children return home every morning to go to school, I even felt like the "weird mom."
Of course I need to work, that I get tired, that I need my time for mom and that sometimes I would like to take a nap or read a book without being interrupted. But I love and adore spending time with my daughter. I love to wake up and see him asleep peacefully next to me. Staying in bed with her after my husband goes to work is definitely one of the things I liked most about this vacation.
There were no schedules to enjoy it, we did not have to be in a hurry to be ready or pressured because time is running and we had to get to school on time. We did what we liked, as we wanted.
Sometimes we got angry, it's true, especially when it was too hot to go out and we had to figure it out so we wouldn't feel trapped at home. But although there were days when our activities were limited, in general we always had a good time because we were together. What for many parents is usually heavy, for us it was a beautiful adventure.
I understand that the circumstances are not the same in every home. In some both parents work and it is difficult to take care of the children when they are on vacation, but that is something very different and I think that in that particular situation, neither parent celebrates the return to class because they are tired or fed up. For them it is usually a kind of relief because their children return to a safe place while they work and cease to be somewhat complicated.
Well no, it's not easier for everyone
The truth is that, although they have a funny tone those images of parents providing because the children return to school, the reality of many families is not so.
Like Mia, this is the second time that my daughter returns to class. I also thought it would be easier. But it turns out that holidays used to live the good life at home, being just her and me. Playing, painting, laughing and even arguing. During the entire days I spent with my daughter, we both learned many things, one from the other and we share anecdotes that now that he is not home all day, we will not have.
Let's enjoy and spend quality time with our children every afternoon and weekend, because in motherhood the days are long, but the years are short and when we least expect it, we will be saying goodbye to our children to go to college.
I share a phrase from Elizabeth Stone that I love: "Making the decision of having a child is transcendental. It is deciding that your heart will always walk outside your body".
