As a mom, the rhythms of the year revolve around your children.
Vacations get planned around Winter and Spring Break, family getaways happen mostly on the days teachers have training, and, of course, what to do with the kids over summer vacation becomes the ultimately yearly juggle.
Back to school season has its own place on the calendar, and, if you ask most moms, this time of year can turn into a time of new routines and fresh starts almost as much as New Year’s Eve is to the rest of the world.
We spoke to some of our favorite moms to find out what rituals made it into their back to school plans, and, specifically, their first day back to school traditions.
“I have friends who make sure that first day of school jitters are gone for the kids by having an ice-cream social a few days before, and others who bring muffins and donuts to the bus stop for the kids, then arrange a fun brunch for their friends,” shares Barb Dehn, in Palo Alto, California.
We all know a group of moms who spend a little quality time with each other after drop-off. “A friend of mine has a big back-to-school bash for the Moms the first day of school,” says Dana Hilmer, in Madison, Connecticut.
Some go above and beyond in honor of the day. Dehn shares, “One of my friends arranges a back-to-school brunch and has pedicurists and manicurists come to her house to pamper the moms.” Dehn admits she’s in “a league of her own.”
“She has it catered and the champagne is flowing. However, since we're all busy, she makes it clear that everyone needs to be out by 11 AM.”
For some moms, back to school is a time to start “a new organization system and focus on getting the photos and art from the previous school year in order,” says Hilmer. Otherwise, “it's so easy for all of the keepsakes to get totally out of control.”
The far and away favorite tradition has to be making sure to snap a photo before hitting the door. As emphasized in a Mom Central Poll, 52% of moms wouldn’t miss this tradition. Alison Rhodes, in Wilton, CT, agrees “it’s about the only thing I can count on to be consistent from year to year.”
Finally, our favorite tradition might come only once or twice in a family’s life – the day the youngest child starts full days of school. “This year, it'll be Lucie's first year of full-time kindergarten,” Anne-Marie Nichols in Colorado relates. “I have to rush home to work. But I'm sure the words of Martin L. King, Jr.'s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, ‘Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last!’ will be on my lips.”