All at School - A New Era

It has been 9 years and 2 months since Dylan was born and made me a mother and ever since, I have had a baby or toddler at home.  They all did 2 days at nursery from the term after they turned 3 but they were still at home more than in any other setting.  Last week Cora started full time school and it feels like the beginning of a new era, one where I have free time, one where I can work, clean, shop, read and even nap in peace.  It feels like even more of a big thing after six months of having the children at home and I thought I would be more emotional about it all than I am.  The reality is, that I was just so tired that it was a welcome change and I spent the first week doing very little!

Cora seems so small starting school, she is shorter than her peers and a summer born baby but in other ways she is so ready and she has run in happily after a cuddle and a kiss since the first day.  She has friends there and she is ready to learn.  She wants to be able to read and write like her brothers and I think she is going to thrive. 

I have plans for this time, a mixture of working during the days rather than trying to fit everything in during the evenings and spending some time looking after me, going for walks and reading.  I am so ready for this new chapter though.  The start of having them all at school means the school holidays being more special than ever, it means watching their personalities develop even more, watching them learn independently and hopefully having more energy to enjoy them after a little time out during the day.

Every step forward that we take at the moment makes me more sure in our decision that four children is the right number for us.  I am looking forward to the future and watching these four grow up, the things we can do, the places we can go.  There is nothing very profound in this blog post, just an acknowledgement that this is a new chapter and whilst it is bittersweet letting go a little bit, watching them leaving the baby and toddler years behind, it is wonderful watching them becoming themselves.

Now to count down to October half term when I get some special time with these babies of mine!