September 1, 2015
A House Full of Silence Dear Dr. Laura, As always, back to school week is especially hard for me. At this point, I assumed it would be getting easier, but after all these years it has not. As my husband and I dropped our "summer sidekicks" off to start their third and fourth grade year, tears flowed after waving good bye to them like every year before. This was followed by a long pause of silence between my husband and me, and sighs of sadness that another school year has begun. It just goes by so fast. It seemed like yesterday when we started our tradition of first day school family breakfast followed with lots of pictures in their brand new uniforms and a car ride together talking about how exciting their first day was going to be, reminding them to listen and follow teacher directions and to have fun. Then watching them get out of the car while my husband and I fought who could shout the loudest, "Have a good day! We love you!" I thought this year maybe would be less emotional; after all, I have done this first school day ritual several times. I thought maybe I would be thankful for a house full of silence and happy to return to the daily routine of a stay-at-home mom. Instead, the silence is eerily annoying, and the routine while at times is nice, only makes me miss my kids more. I miss jumping into the pool in our pjs after breakfast, riding our bikes through the mud after an afternoon thunderstorm, and movie nights where bedtime didn't matter. I miss hearing the laughter while they played games together, and their magic shows where I was fortunate to have a front row seat. Mostly, I miss the nights where we all feel asleep in the same bed and awoke to smiles and snuggles. Dr. Laura, thank you for continuing to stress on your radio program the importance of staying home with your children. No excuses. If you have a child please don't let someone else raise them for you! I promise anyone who is thinking of sending their child to day care or put them in a camp every day of the summer will miss out on the greatest moments of being a parent. I wish more mothers realized that once your child leaves home for good, you will forever be thankful for the memories you have created with them which will last forever. I am my kids' mom, my hubby's girlfriend, and a huge Dr. Laura fan. Heidi Posted by Staff at 10:59 AM |