The Back to School Crazy Train

We've had a smooth week at Camp Rustown and this year is the first in a looooong time that I am a little less stressed about back to school.  Why?  Because after 15 years one is out of school and working, one is in college, one is in high school, and one is in middle school.  Only two to shop for instead of three! Or four!  Only two BTS nights to attend! For 15 years we've had at least one child in elementary school.  In 2001, oldest went to middle school,  two youngers were in elementary, and the baby was in Mother's Day Out two days a week.  By 2003, we had 2 in middle school, one in elementary.  In 2004, the baby started Kindergarten and  we had all four in school at the same time - K through ninth grade - a very busy year to say the least.  2006 - a break from middle school - yay!  By 2007, 2 were in high school, one in middle school, and one in elementary.  Pretty spread out - we were feeling the burn again.  The oldest was getting ready to graduate so there was light at the end of the tunnel.  By the start of 2009 I was back to having a kid at each campus again. There were many times this made it tricky for both parents to attend BTS night.  This June #2 graduated - hooray for us! Now we are getting somewhere! We will have the "one in MS/one in HS" combo until spring of 2014 when #3 graduates.  Then the caboose will spend 3 years as our only school aged kid - a lonely place as the baby, but it will be so nice to slow down the crazy train of school for the parents....

Rustown Art

When the last one graduates, hubby and I deserve some sort of prize, or at the very least, a vacay.  It has been a tough but rewarding job, worth every gray hair, and I was glad to do it...room mom, PTA meetings, field trip chaperone, hubby as scout den leader, pit crew member for the band....etc, etc...I am getting closer to being ready for the day when Back to School doesn't exhaust me...but I will feel empathy for other moms who are just beginning that journey. (: