Goodbye, summer 2009. Hello, 2009-10 school year! While my kids would never admit it, I suspect they have longed for this day as much as I, especially the past several weeks when the dog days of summer have digressed into whimpers and whines. 

We shopped all weekend in our attempt to single-handedly stimulate the economy. We laid out everyone's carefully selected "first day" outfits the night before. Forms were filled out in triplicate. Lunches were pre-planned so the first morning would be a smooth transition for all of us. And, surprisingly, it was.

Everyone got up on time and had a relaxing breakfast with plenty of time to brush teeth, get dressed and pose for Dad's obligatory "first day" photo op.

I dropped Nick off at the bus stop for his first experience riding the school bus to middle school. Then, I followed (not too closely) as my other two brave, independent boys walked into Miller Elementary. Sam, 9, pretended not to know me. Nathan, 6, boldly walked several steps ahead, confident he knew exactly where he was going.

After getting Nathan settled, I turned to leave the first grade hall and there he was: a terrified little boy crying silently, eyes wide and his lower lip trembling. I'm sure he assured his parents that he knew exactly where he was going, too. But things must have looked very differently to him this morning, and he was frozen in his tracks. I directed him to a teacher who quickly put him at ease and ushered him to his classroom.

Now all of my boys are safely and securely back at school and I can relax with a second cup of coffee as I ponder what new and exciting adventures await us this year. Don't tell my boys, but I'm already looking forward to dinner when I can hear all about their first day experiences.