Back to School!

Ah, it's back to school time.  This time of year brings me joy for a reason unlike most parents'...  Most parents are happily sending their little ones off to spend the day at school.  No more worrying about childcare, or how to entertain kids all day, or day-long-gigantic kid messes to clean...  It's kind of like a hard-earned vacation for most parents.
For me though, it means I can go to the zoo, the park, the store, the library, the museum, etc, etc, etc, without forcing my way through a crowd of hundreds & stressing over losing sight of my own kids.  It also means back to routine (since we took the summer off, unlike I originally planned).  Knowing what will happen each day, knowing what expectations I have for my kids & they for me, knowing that we'll get to have fun & play once school work is done.
I've struggled at times with accepting my calling to homeschool.  Some days are hard & I just. don't. wanna.  Other days are wonderful love-filled, fun-having, glorious reminders of why I chose to make sacrifices so that my kids could be with me all day.  While I wish I had days of peace & quiet, and the ability to bring in some extra income so we could eat out more/vacation/buy all the things...  I also appreciate how quickly childhood passes & how special it is that I'm able to play such an active role in my kids' lives every day.
Kman's anxiety is pretty much nil most days, and he's so very happy homeschooling.  Sweetiepie Sparkles has had the chance to build a closer bond with his brother.  With a 5 year gap, their relationship wouldn't have been able to reach its full potential if they didn't spend all their days together.  (Do not get me wrong, they fight - A LOT - and make me crazy, but it's worth it!)
Next week we'll start back to actual, planned-out schooling (as homeschoolers know, education is a 24/7/365 thing in our families) & KMan is actually pretty ready for it.  Sweetiepie Sparkles will be doing some school stuff too this year & he is VERY excited about it.
We already miss our mainstream-schooled friends, some went back before this week (why do private schools start so early?!), and others started back yesterday.  We will miss the lazy days of summer.  (As we trade them in for lazy days of fall, haha!)  We will miss getting to spend time at the pool & splashpads.  We'll miss all the fun things that summer brings.  BUUUUUT, we will not miss the crowds, the heat (well, eventually it'll go away), and the chaos summer can bring.
So, here's to back to school, in whatever form school takes for your family.  Let's all have a fabulous year!