A few weeks ago we were watching the original Winnie the Pooh Movie with our boys and at the very end of the movie I started to cry.
Winnie the Pooh was one of my all-time favourites growing up; I loved the stories and the adventures he and Christopher Robin went on. But, as I child I never realized that Christopher Robin was just a young boy, with all the time in the world to play with his toys. At the end of the movie, Christopher Robin explains to Pooh that they won’t really be able to play together as much anymore because he is starting school and when I realized that this was the end of their free time together I cried… a lot.
We’ve been chatting with our four-year old for a couple of months now about what it means that he is starting school in September. And to be honest, as a mom of three there are many stages that have been tough, but for some reason our oldest starting school has been a hard one so far. On the one hand, I am so excited for him to start learning more, making new friends and beginning this new chapter of his life, but on the other hand I am also so sad about the end of this part of his life as well; the freedom of playing whenever he wants, hanging out with his brother and sister all day and of course the time we’ve spent together since he was little. It’s crazy to think that after the age of four our lives become more structured, we have routines and free time starts to become scheduled. Yes, both of our boys have attended preschool before, but this seems so different, so permanent, and I honestly can’t wait for next summer so we can spend our days moving slowly and making our plans as we go.
There is no doubt that this is such an exciting and stressful time as our lives will change a lot in the next few weeks, our slow days at home will become a little more rushed and the routines will start. So we’ve tried to soak up our summer days as much as we could. I also think it’s so important to check in with him as we get closer to the big day and ask how he feels about this new stage and these are some of the things he’s said:
- “I don’t want to leave my old school.”
- “Who’s my new teacher?”
- “Will my friends be there?”
- “I’m excited to make lots of new crafts!”
- “I’m so excited to pick what goes into my lunch bag!”
This new chapter for our four-year-old is both exciting and a little nerve-racking for all of us, but as a parent I am slowly learning that with each new stage there is so much joy and I can’t wait to see him grow! And just like Winnie and Christopher Robin, we will still make time to play whenever we can.
I wrote this piece for Snaped Vaughn and I am so excited that it was recently published in Print!
Sending all my love to the mamas, dads and kids starting school this week for the first time or just in general. Change is such a tough thing and as a mom I’ve learned it’s honestly the most consistent thing … things are always changing, the toughest part is that it doesn’t necessarily get easier.
XO
Vanessa
josephineacreativelife.com 