For thos whose child is starting primary school in September

[policywonk]

There's a feature in the Guardian on Saturdays called 'A letter to...', which quite often makes me blub. This week, it's about a boy who is about to start primary school, and my blubbing has been pretty unconfined, as DS1 is about to don the grey shorts of destiny and plunge headlong into the manky beanbag of lifelong learning. Or something.

sniff

Lovely letter, policywonk. DD starts school in just over a week and I have been feeling very much like this. This evening, she sat on her swing singing a made-up song in her usual tuneless way "Everybody who knows me loves me.." and I thought about how this will no longer be true one day, and how somebody, some time in her school is going to tell her that she can't carry a tune.

A letter to.. always makes me blub, without fail!! Glad I'm not the only one!!

That is funny, OldieMum

It is very poignant, these little children - who were surely babies just last week - being so blithe and unaware of what's about to hit them. DS is very excited about school, but I don't think he has at all understood what it means to do something every day, five days a week.

Bump for anyone who fancies a good sob on a Sunday afternoon.

policywonk - yes,they are often very poignant - I shall feel similarly next yr when ds is off to secondary school - I feel sad at every new year,for that matter -!!

Oh God, don't get me started on New Year.

I meant every new school year,rather than Happy New Year - I think that it just marks a point at which you'll never get back,even if you have more than 1 child (and I only have the one) About this time of year I reckon I usually post something on mumsnet lamenting the passing of time !!