Things That Only Happen On the First Day of School

The first day of school is a strange phenomenon for parents.  It is faced with a mix of excitement, relief, and dread as you realize that your children are embarking on another school year guaranteed to fly by as fast that those before it.  Regardless of one's feelings about the first day of school.  There are five things that occur this particular day that will not happen for the other 179 days of the school year.

1) Your children will be out of bed on time, and more surprisingly, so will you.  There is something unusually easy about getting up before dawn to get your kids dressed and out the door as soon as possible on the first day of school.  No need to hit the snooze button today.  No chance of accidentally over-sleeping.  It's back to school and you will be there at least 10 minutes before the bell rings.

2) Your child's clothes will be pressed and looking sharp.  If you're like me, this is a rare occurrence for anyone in the household, including yourself.  There are few things I detest as much as ironing and therefore, I purpose to do it as little as possible.  But I realized this morning as I pressed a miniature polo shirt and navy cargo shorts, that I was definitely going above and beyond.  Why?  It's the first day of school.

3) You will provide a healthy and substantial breakfast for your children.   On the first day of school, your child will partake of each of the four basic food groups from the veritable smorgasbord of food you will prepare.  After all, they cannot possibly function and be sustained throughout the day without the proper nutrients on the first day of school.  Every other day of the school year, a cold Pop Tart eaten in the car on the way to school is considered sufficient.

4) You will watch the clock religiously and wonder what your child is doing at each moment of the day.  This is perhaps the most puzzling ritual of the day.  This is largely due to the fact that, for most parents, it will be a matter of mere days before you lose track of time completely and nearly forget to pick up your children from school.

5) You will retire unusually early, exhausted from your extra efforts and knowing full well that the process will begin again in the morning.  The good news is, you can hit the snooze button tomorrow.  It's not the first day of school. :-)