This column is an installment of the regular feature Tara Thompson writes from the Wilton Newcomer’s Club.
Fall has always been my favorite season. I love the cooling temperatures, the riot of colors exploding in my backyard, those first fires of the season when my husband and I share a bottle of cabernet as the kids jockey for prime marshmallow roasting position in front of the fireplace. But it’s not just that⎯I swear, autumn air is laced with the smell of freshly sharpened pencils!
Back to school means new clothes, new friends, and possibly better⎯new school supplies. Show me an aisle filled with calendars, cheerfully patterned notebooks and journals, towering displays of pens and pencils, post-its, binders (and of course dozens of options for dividing them), hopefully a few paperbacks too… and I will show you my happy place.
Which is why I’m struggling with my decision to forgo a paper calendar this year. Yesterday I input all of the kids after-school schedules into my online calendar app, which will hopefully flow through to my iPhone and iPad. I’m sick of feeling lost without my paper calendar; it’s seemingly MIA whenever I needed to plan something. I rarely missed appointments, but there was always this tiny coil of dread in the pit of my stomach⎯what was I forgetting?
But as I filled my upcoming days with kids events, and even a few of my own (color coded, by the way⎯take that messy paper calendar!), I remembered years past when back-to-school was undistinguishable from any other time of year. The kids ate, slept and played. Factor a few tantrums and diaper changes, and the extra time was spent at the grocery store and pediatrician, plus occasional playdates and mommy&me classes. Spring, summer, fall, winter. All that really changed were the clothes.
Do I miss those days that seemed both slower and longer? Days when I felt lonely with out ever, ever actually being alone? Nope, not at all.
This year I will have a 5th, 3rd, and 1st grader. And as I look through all of their activities⎯Star Wars Legos & soccer for Pierce; dance, cheer and gymnastics for Chloe; cooking, golf and ice hockey for Logan⎯I love that they are developing social lives of their own. They are no longer just shorter, cuter extensions of my husband and me, but real people, with their own ideas, interests and opinions.
I am so grateful for all that Wilton offers our children. Beyond the extensive list provided by Wilton Continuing Ed and the Parks and Rec Department, we have so many other options right here in town, or just a few minutes away in neighboring towns.
I’m excited for all the new things they’re going to learn, the new friends they will make and insights they will discover about themselves. (Although I can’t lie⎯I’m definitely not looking forward to the inevitable drama that accompanies shifting friendships and steep learning curves.)
But don’t let the kids have all the fun⎯let this be a season to usher in new friendships of your own! Join the Wilton Newcomers Club at two fabulous upcoming events:
End-Of-Summer Backyard Bash: Enjoy the last Saturday before school, Aug. 29, sipping cocktails and nibbling on hors d’oeuvres with old friends and new on the gorgeous outdoor patio of one of our members.
Boo-Hoo/Woo-Hoo Brunch: On the first day of school, Aug. 31 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., we will have mimosas and tissues in abundance for all moms celebrating, commiserating, or both. Younger siblings are welcome and babysitting is available, (the fee must be paid in advance).
Registration is required for both events. To learn more, visit the Wilton Newcomers Club website.