When I start thinking about the upcoming “back to school” season, I am reminded of the stress and anxiety I felt last year when Ella entered 1st grade.

At that time, I was completely overwhelmed and anxious at the thought of putting my baby on a big yellow school bus for the first time, all by herself. Ella was of course thrilled about riding on the school bus. In fact, that was her favorite thing about going to school! I, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck and struggled for weeks at the thought of putting her on that bus. Would she make it to school okay? What if the bus driver turned out to be a kidnapper? What if she doesn’t know where to go after she gets off the bus? Yes, these are the crazy thoughts that went through my head.

Ella wouldn’t let me drive her to school on her first day and insisted on taking the school bus, So, I felt I had no choice but to follow her bus to school in my car—just to make sure she arrived safely! When I told my husband about this plan, he flat out told me I was crazy and convinced me that following Ella’s school bus was completely unnecessary. However, I quickly discovered by talking to my fellow moms that they actually had very similar thoughts and fears as I did about the first day of school. I took comfort in knowing that I wasn’t alone, and to my relief, that day went smoothly.

This year, I feel completely at peace about Ella heading back to school and I’m actually looking forward to enjoying and celebrating her first day of second grade.

Do you have any first-day-of-school stories to share? Leave a comment below!