Hey all,

I left my job to stay-at-home with our son, and that has pretty much been my reality for 4.5 years. It's been great, and I'm so glad I did it. But last Monday, he went off to school for the first time and, if you heard about any flooding in Hollywood around that time, that was me, crying. He's doing great, but goodness, I'm a sentimental person (Pixar movies make me cry badly), and it has hit me over and over again.

He actually was sick and missed his first few days, so that make his actual first day a bit more anticlimactic in a way, which made it easier. I had it all together as we got ready until I was putting his shoes on, and he leaned in and told me, "I'm going to miss you."

Anyway, just thought I'd start a thread for anyone else going through this.

Patrick

I know the feeling

My daughter is a senior in College and I still remember the first day I took her to Pre-K. My wife ran her own office so she worked long hours 7 days a week. My mother and father watched my daughter during the day, but I watched her all evenings, all day Saturday and stayed home when she was sick.

I drover her to pre-K, I was expecting her to cry and having to convince her to go in. We walked into the building, got to the door, she saw all the kids and waked right in. A little girl behind her started crying, she turned around and helped thte other little girl into the class. I was very proud of her for that, but a little devastated that she just walked in.. I too went home and did my share of crying, sat there most of the day watching the cartoons her and I watched.

Happened again when I took her to the bus for kindergarten.... and again when we took her to college and left her there for school...

It's a tough thing, but I take it in stride. The first time is definitely the most nerve-wracking, but as they get older, they have less anxiety about it, and therefore the parents do, too. It was always harder on my wife. What I worry more about now is being an empty nester in probably three more years. Not sure what I'll do then!

Is an interesting thing and also always shows the differences in kids, even siblings. For mine my youngest is now in the 2nd year of primary school (she recently turned 6) and my eldest is in his 6th year. Their attitudes were totally different. Both had attended nurseries from when they were 1 until when they started school so they were used to being out of the house all day with people watching them that weren't family. My son was 4.5 when he started and he was a bit reticent going in but after the first day he quite liked it. My daughter just went "bye" and walked in calm as anything!

I saw 4 of my kids off to school for their first time and I cried each time. Not because they were going to school for their first time but because I was very proud of them. Also because I thought to myself…who did they thank they were, I mean, weren’t they just in diapers just the other day, and now they’re at school…what’s next…graduating from some university. Kids sure do grow up fast, don’t they!?!

I don’t know of any parents that didn’t cry as their child went off to school for the very first time. Those same parents that cried as their child went to school for the very first time, also shedded tears when they saw their child once again when the school bell rung at the end of their first day.

You’re a very proud dad, Patrick, and you’ve every reason to be so!!

Ironically it's been a tough one for us as we have homeschooled my oldest from kindergarten to the 11th grade. He is going to a career and tech education school part time this year, and for the first time in his life today he had to catch the school bus. I was feeling some kind of way seeing him get on a school bus.