Looking forward to some time off!

I am definitely in the home stretch now! I have to finish out work today and then I will have my midwife write me out of work at our appointment on Tuesday afternoon. After cleaning out my desk and just finishing up a few random things on Wednesday, I am OUT of work for a while. My mom arrives on Thursday evening and I couldn't be more excited! In addition to the one major project on the docket (birthing a healthy baby boy!) I have quite a few other things I'd like to tackle with her while she's here. She's such a dynamo and is willing to help me with whatever I need, which is so great. I really appreciate all she does for me, even if I only get to take advantage of it a couple times a year.

My oldest starts first grade on Tuesday. Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday we put him on the bus to kindergarten with much fanfare. We videotaped him getting off the bus and then went to the classroom to meet him there after he got routed through the playground into the doors the kindergarteners use....except he never showed up!!! Oh my gosh, my heart was in my throat as Chris went racing around the school looking for him amid the chaos of the first day of school. It was crazy! After about 10 minutes where I felt totally helpless, standing there with the two younger boys, he finally found him wandering on the opposite side of the school. Oh, was I MAD! They had assured us that everyone looks out for the kindergarteners since they are so little and new to all of it, but here it was his first day and he was allowed to just go off on his own! For a full week after that, Chris would put him on the school bus and then follow him up to the school and make sure he made it to his classroom. We weren't taking any chances!

What a change in parenting styles from when I was little. My mom literally dropped me off at the school on the first day of kindergarten and said "Second door on your left." I remember very vividly walking into the school by myself and wondering what my left was. But I figured out that I should look for the most "kid friendly" room since I would be in the youngest class in the school. Luckily, I found it right away since my friend from down the street had already arrived with his mother. My mom claims that my older brother had cried and clung to her leg on his first day of kindergarten two years before and she didn't want that kind of scene again. If I were the type of kid to make a scene, wouldn't I have done that at the car when she was dropping me off?

I guess as parents we have more and more to fear for our kids these days. Was there less danger when we were kids or are we just more aware of all the danger for our kids today? What do you think?