Boo Hoo, or Woo Hoo

Back to School: Two kinds of moms

Over the years, I’ve noticed there are two kinds of moms when it comes to school starting each fall. There are the moms who are looking forward to their littles venturing back into the world of academia. They are the Woo Hoo moms. Then, there are the moms who dread the first day of school. They are super worried, and anxious about what will happen when their little steps into that building we call the school. Some moms know exactly which category they fall in, while others aren’t exactly sure. Let’s see what characteristics and activities you identify with to help determine if you are a Boo Hoo, or a Woo Hoo.

Back to School: Boo Hoo

You might be a Boo Hoo mom if:

You dread the school year starting.

You are anxious about letting your little one go, to the point that every time you think about it – you end up in tears. You think homeschooling is a great option, except you really don’t have the resources. You’ve been known to cancel date night with the hubby because you couldn’t bear to be away from your little. You are hesitant to leave your little one with grandparents, or other trustworthy family members. Basically, the idea of your little one growing up sends you into a tailspin of anxiety and panic.

You don’t know what to do or who to be without kids underfoot.

You haven’t had time to yourself in so long…what will you do? How will you feel? You haven’t had any job that didn’t relate to your child in so long you can’t remember what it was like?

You love kid stuff so much you think your life will be boring.

You love colors and crayons and Barbies and bows. You love long conversations on your 3rd and 4th favorite dinosaurs. You dread having to talk to grown ups in the grocery store and without your little one to distract you…you might make eye contact with someone. They might want you to talk to them!

You are the ONLY one who understands your child.

You worry that no one will be able to understand your child and his/her needs. Who will listen? Who will know when they are hungry? Who will help them with their shoelaces and buttons and buckles?

You will be held to a higher standard of cooking and cleaning around the house.

Have you been using the mantra “Cleaning the house while the kids are at home is like brushing your teeth while eating Oreos.”? (Yeah, me too.) Have you been saying you don’t have time to run those errands or make the bed or clean out the pantry because of the kids? Are you worried that now you’ll either need to clean the pantry or get a new excuse?

You’ll be expected to have a hobby or exercise.

People will ask you what you do with your free time and expect you to have something besides “look at pinterest” and “manage the dust bunnies” to say for it! Are you not ready to wear yoga pants like you just got back to the gym?

You will be asked to volunteer.

Do you panic at the thought of being asked to volunteer in the classroom? Do you panic at the thought of having to come up with Pinterest worthy ideas for games and teacher gifts?

Back to School: Woo Hoo!

You might be a Woo Hoo! mom if:

You count the days.

You start counting down the days until school starts – on the first day of summer. You have an entire months worth of lunches planned. School supplies purchased as soon as the first display goes up. New backpack and lunch kit bought in late July. You love your children, but they are exhausting to keep up with all day. You are elated to send them back to teachers, who can get their brains going and growing; back to coaches who will make them exercise; back to friends who entertain them. You have your annual “Back to School Brunch” already planned with some of the other Woo Hoo! moms.

You miss ‘me time’.

Summer means you can’t remember the last time you had your hair done and your makeup done. Summer means you have long, long long conversations about battles on Fortnite and memes. You watch other people play games on Youtube.

You miss exercising.

Summer means no schedule for exercise. You can’t button your pants because the kids hate staying at the kid’s area of the gym and they insist on cookies for snacks and they don’t finish all the cookies so you do.

You miss adult conversation.

Talking about which superhero is the toughest and which dinosaur would be able to win a fight between the T-rex and the Brontosaurus (T-Rex, duh) and pretending that the floor is lava and you must jump from pillow to pillow to cross the living room is all fun, but remember discussing …..anything else? Politics? Favorite show? Fashion? Wine? Yeah, me neither.

Back to School: Can I be a bit of both?

Absolutely, you can. A lot of moms start out as a boo hoo mom. But, as the little gets bigger, you both become more confident in your abilities to be away from each other. You also become more confident in the ability of others to care for you child.

Some moms, are boo hoo moms for the major transitions – Kindergarten, Junior High, High School, and College.

The random years that don’t mark milestones are Woo Hoo!

But when the bigger changes come – so does the realization that the little is no longer so little. In fact, the little may now be taller than you!  So my fellow moms, no matter which group you may fall in – when the first day of school arrives, give them a tight hug, take their picture, and let them begin the next chapter of their lives.