As parents all over the Westside of LA know, this is the month that our kids return to school.  That’s right — it’s time for those last-minute shopping sprees and meetings, and time to rearrange your schedules!

I arrive at Westwood Charter School…it is the first week back and I am 20 minutes late and in my black fuzzy slippers and sweatpants that I slept in.  I am a punctual person and with four children under 11 have absolutely learned that making 4 different lunches in under 10 minutes is an absolutely doable exercise on most days but not today.  In fact, I don’t think I have ever been later before.

My youngest child, Ryder, has just started Kindergarten and has decided that today (and the last 3 days) that he simply just does not want to put on his shoes, brush his teeth, eat breakfast or make new friends.  We all have visions of that first day of Kindergarten as being a magical moment in a child’s life where he or she spreads their wings and goes out into the world and learns that wonderful independence we all aspire to have as we get older.  Today, I look at my youngest boy (who now weighs in at over 60 pounds) as my little man who I wish would just stay small forever.  As he lays in of the front door refusing to put on his brand new converse sneakers (the ones he picked out with the cool red flames on the side), I have to make the decision to sit down to hug and hold him or force those shoes on and get to school before the bell rings.  I sit down and hug him and as we both wipe away a few tears, I decide to simply take these next 10 minutes as a time to bond and “be” before his 8 hour school day and my 8 hour work day….it feels really great despite the tardy slip that might be waiting for us in the office.

It is absolutely the start of school… the transition, the schedule and the hurry is all before us, and sometimes it is worth it to just take a brief 10 minutes to take a deep breathe and enjoy those small moments that are given to us oftentimes as a gift.  I am still in my slippers and sweatpants and as I head home from school am wondering now what my 2^nd, 5^th and 6^th grader are doing and although I don’t know this, I do know that a hug will be waiting for them when they get home.

If you are a Los Angeles parent with a back-to-school story of your own, please share your story in the comments section below; I’d love to know that I’m not the only one who finds these transitions challenging!