The school supplies are purchased.  New lunch boxes, new shoes, new polo shirts and jeans. My boy's front tooth is so loose, it's already made a gap in his mouth. We are ready for the first day of school.

My boy is happy because his first grade teacher is the same teacher our neighbor had, but he's even more happy that another neighbor got our beloved kindergarten teacher.

Three houses on our street are all going to the same school. They'll all walk to school with the Principal on the first day, then they'll all ride the bus together.

There is a saying that the days are long, but the years are short. After a sweltering summer that felt like it would never end, I find myself wishing we could have one more week to stay at the pool all afternoon, or drive to Chataucqua for a hike, or stay in our PJ's until noon.

The days are long, but today both my boys will be in school. Granted, my 3 year old will be there for all of three hours - but how quickly it goes! Being a stay at home mom is not easy.  I'm so grateful that I spent this time with them.