The start of term and the end of an era

This morning I sat down at my desk with a hot drink and nearly the whole day ahead of me. My life as I have known it for the last six and a half years, a Mum with young babies and children at home, is officially over! Okay, I was working for a couple of years while Harry was a baby, but memories of that time have pretty much vanished under a thick cloud of sleep deprivation. For the last two years I've also had a couple of mornings a week with them both out the house, but those few hours always went by quickly.

Mia didn't appear to have any concerns or anxieties about starting school. She wanted to put everything away in her classroom herself, and when I popped outside the door to check something she thought I'd gone. I went back in thirty seconds later to find her informing the teacher that she would like to do some colouring, and she looked surprised that I'd reappeared to kiss her goodbye. At her school they start them full time from day one, so I'm sure she's going to be tired in a couple of weeks time!

Harry frets about things a little more and he was a bit anxious about starting Year 2, but when the bell rang he was swept off with his class and I didn't get a backwards glance. I came home with a full to do list, although I chose the wrong thing to start with - decluttering some of the baby and toddler board books - which set me off with a sniffle as I remembered happy hours of reading them to my babies!

Harry and I made Mia a Schultüte - a large cardboard cone filled with sweets and stationery which children receive on their first day of school. It's a German tradition, but I feel a vague affinity with German culture having studied the language for years and lived there for a while. I made one for Harry too when he started two years ago and it's nothing too extravagant, just a couple of bags of sweets and some pencils and bits that she'll need when she starts bringing home school work.

So here's to another new life stage!