I Have My Day Back.

My four-year-old son started preschool again last week. Which means he’s gone for almost an entire school day. Which means I get my day back. I love September.

Of course, I love spending time with my boy. This is his third year(!) in the early-intervention preschool program we enrolled him in, and since then his communication and social skills have vastly improved. Combined with the natural progression of age, it’s been wonderful watching him grow from a wobbly, blubbering toddler to a little boy with thoughts and opinions. Just yesterday he told us what his favorite breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals were! Unsolicited! I love watching him mature and I love being his father.

But man oh man is it nice to get a break from him again.

Over the summer, it was just me and him during the day. I thought I was used to that by now, after two previous years of preschool. This summer was different. He wasn’t a baby, or a toddler, or a three-year-old. He was a little boy, with all the energy and enthusiasm that comes with it. And man, did he have a lot of energy. Every day, from sunrise to sundown, I had to think of new ways to entertain him and new adventures to go on. Sure, I could have plopped him down in front of a television or video games (which I certainly did, at times), but I wanted him to engage with his summer, not let it pass him by while he was staring at a screen. I think I was successful in my endeavor, but it left me drained. More drained than I was expecting.

He’s back in school now, which is awesome. He gets to meet new friends, learn cool preschool stuff, and play with other kids. I get the opportunity to do work during the day and not when my wife gets home from work at night, when I’m drained from a day of entertaining a four-year-old. I love watching him trot into school, and the time he’s away makes me look forward to picking him up again.

But man oh man, it’s nice to have that time to myself.