When Your Only Goes to Kindergarten

At this point, I think it’s no secret that my husband and I have hopped on the “one and done” train. We are happy with our family size and, honestly, it just works for us.

This year my son started kindergarten, which brought up a lot more emotions than I thought it would. Everyone told me it’d be emotional, so I was prepared for it. But I wasn’t prepared for the “only child going to kindergarten” emotions. I’m not going to pretend I know how all moms feel. I’m sure the “first kid” feels are similar to the “baby of the family” feels. All I know is this is how I feel.

When your only goes to kindergarten …

You celebrate the fact that you’re officially not paying daycare fees (assuming you’re going the public school route) … but you also feel a little sad that your baby isn’t in daycare anymore. The door to the baby stage has been shut with finality.

You have a brand new school and routine to learn … much like any mom of an older child. I practiced the route for the carline. I read through the school’s handbook, and I took off of work to go to my child’s kindergarten orientation. In short, I have no clue what I’m doing because this is my first (and last) go with kindergarten.

You need to figure out where you stand on things like homework and grades … but you don’t want to mess up. I don’t want to be overbearing, but that’s hard to balance when I only have one kid to focus on. I also don’t want to be too lax because I do want him to be successful in school. After all, having an education will unlock many doors in his future.

You are asked “so, when are you having another?” a dozen or so times … because that’s a logical question to ask if someone has a kid starting kindergarten. But, that does sometimes spiral me into the “am I crazy for only having one?” and “will my kid hate me when he’s older for this decision?” mindset. I’ve also heard other moms of two, three, or four kids wonder if they’ve made the right number-of-kid decision, too. Guess we all have our doubts.

At the end of the day, I guess I’m just like every other mom.

My heart is walking into the school, just like every other mom’s. We have mixed emotions of fear, pride, nervousness, and excitement. We want to do best for our kids. And we all admit to not having everything figured out.

Jaime Mackey
Originally from Florida, Jaime has lived in Southern Louisiana for most of her life (so, that makes her a local, right?). She currently resides on the Northshore with her husband and son and teaches high school English. An enneagram 5, you'll most likely find her doing hot yoga solo, on her phone researching a random topic or sitting in the comfort of her home with coffee and a book within an arm's reach.

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