Dear mom at kindergarten drop-off,

I am not going to lie, today will be tough. To be completely honest it will probably be a tough week. It will get easier though and I have some tips to help you along the way.

You will cry. Go ahead and do it but make sure your kid doesn’t see you. Wait until they have entered the building and you are walking to the car to let your eyes spew all of the tears. If they see you cry they will most likely start to cry as well. Others will follow suit and then you will have two dozen four-year-old’s crying, making you the most hated parent at kindergarten drop-off.

You will want to call the school to see if your little one is OK. Don’t do it. The staff at the school knows how to handle the new students. They are the professionals. Trust them.

You will want to hang out near the school “just in case”. Do yourself a favour and leave.

You will want to hang out near the school “just in case”. Do yourself a favour and leave. Go get coffee, the pedicure you so dearly need or make a trip to the movie theatre for a daytime film that is not rated G. Treat yourself girl!

You will want to tell the teacher about your child. Kindergarten drop-off is a mix of over-protective parents who act like they are not ready to leave their kids, children who act like they are not ready to leave their parents, and school staff who are trying to control the chaos. The teacher will not remember anything you say as she is focused on getting the kids inside. Write a note.

You will second-guess your decision to leave your child. You may even want to act like James Bond in OO7 and try to sneak a peak into their classroom by looking in all of the school windows until you find their class. Please abort that mission before you even start. If your child sees you they may lose their shit and put the whole class into hysterics. Also, it is creepy. There are toys in kindergarten, they will be fine.

No matter how small your child seems walking into the school please remember that they are ready (even if you are not). They will make friends, learn new things and come back to you a better little person. They are growing up and this is just the first of many, many “first days of school”. Embrace it.