Though I don’t have any one attending school (well except for my 30 year old who is a teacher and working on his master’s…) this time of year always feels a little unsettling to me. We did about 15 years of the “going back to college” routine in our home and honestly, I always dreaded the transition.
Hugs and good vibes to anyone going through these unsettling feelings this time of year!
This morning I saw several groups of families at the corner waiting for buses as today is the first day of school for many of our districts. School is great of course, but the end of summer? NEVER great!!! I find myself feeling anxious and empathetic for these people I don’t even know!
I was EAGER for my kids to have the experiences of school and college - even envious! But the transition of their physical self to another environment was always hard.
If you sending one or more off - for the first or last year of college or primary school - how are YOU feeling?
(we used to always have “sending the freshmen off” threads on the Parent Cafe - maybe they are elsewhere now but it was always helpful for me to know I wasn’t alone in being feeling “full”!!)
My D started her senior year in high school this week. Back to not seeing her for at least 12 hours a day. School, high school sports, and club sports for the first few months. This year, add to it the college applications!
August-October are always rough but this year will be the worst. I’m counting down the days till November…
I get that same unsettling feeling when I start seeing school supplies out in abundance at WalMart, Sam’s, etc. These back-to-school sales events always start way too soon, but these always signify the end of summer. It doesn’t help that my house is separated from a middle school up on a hill by a children’s park, watching children being dropped off and picked up each day out of my kitchen window. Although my boys are no longer in school (the younger one just graduated from college in May), our summers when they were growing up were full of fun times together camping, hiking and traveling. Whenever I see the middle school kids out my kitchen window, I still get that feeling of dread.
Youngest left a few days ago for senior year college. She was excited so I’m happy for her. House is quiet. All good here.
I really wish my local schools didn’t start until after Labor Day.
Youngest nephew was dropped at college Sunday with yesterday being his first day. His parents were a weepy mess. Now comes the transition for them, as they navigate being a couple again. That’s a real issue for many.
My own D loved school, from day one. Asked me to send her to pre-school when our synagogue started a tiny one. I did. It allowed me to go back to work p/t which I loved. I have super fond memories of taking her to pre-school and picking her up soon after lunch.
@abasket - it’s funny, but since I live near the beach, in a place that tourists love to visit, this time of year means that we locals will start to get our place back. As we move into September and October our weather is wonderful and the beaches are not so crowded. I certainly was always sad when my girls were younger and they had to go back to school, but we were still able to enjoy our weekends at the beach without so many people.
Mine moves into her apartment for her last year of college on Friday morning. She was working in a different state all summer so we only have her home for 5 days. This week feels like a vacation having her home but it doesn’t feel like “real life” anymore.
+1 to this sentiment. September is the very best month of all at Jersey Shore - we call is “Local Summer”
School here doesn’t start until after Labor Day, so I have a little time before the unsettled feelings really kick in. I’ll be bringing D20 back up to Boston over Labor Day weekend, and will miss her so. It has been wonderful having her here this summer and I fear it is likely the last one she will really spend home. D24 will be heading into Jr. year and has a lot of anxiety over a very challenging semester ahead of her, plus all of the usual jr. year and growing up stresses. She (and by extension, I) wish summer could last forever if only to forestall the impending stress.
I’ve long hated August, mostly because of the weather, but also because of “the most unsettling time of the year.” Fall was always the hardest season in terms of scheduling all of the activities. Getting back into the swing of everything and figuring out who was dropping off who, where, and when was rough. October was when things finally started to settle down.
That changed once they were in college. Saying goodbye was tough and adjusting to an empty house can be depressing, but it’s not the same unsettled feeling as when they were in K-12.
Younger S leaves for his final year tomorrow. I’m not sad yet, but I know I will be. I’m always sad when they go. It always takes me a day to adjust. We were going to visit and see his new apartment over the weekend, but now he says he has plans. No biggie, as we were planning to go in a few weeks for my bday.
but I still LOATHE August! H suggested we just rip it from the calendar. Sounds good to me!
In our area, school starts after Labor Day. The year our youngest went off to college, we scheduled a trip to Bermuda for over Labor Day week-end and the first few days of school. Instead of being sad watching the school buses start to roll down the street and the neighborhood kids getting on in their back-to-school outfits, we were drinking Pina coladas on the beach. It was so freeing and a great way to bust the end-of-summer/empty nest blues! Now that our two kids are out of college, we have moved the annual family vacation to the beach into September - not as hot, not crowded, and it extends summer a bit. We’ll continue to do this until our first grandchild goes off to school!
D24 will be heading into Jr. year and has a lot of anxiety over a very challenging semester ahead of her, plus all of the usual jr. year and growing up stresses. She (and by extension, I) wish summer could last forever if only to forestall the impending stress.