The backpacks are packed, ready for the first day.
Fresh crayons, bright and pointy.
Tiny names scrawled on colorful notebooks.
An array of unicorn folders waits to hold marvelous works of art.
You've bought their supplies and checked off the lists. 
Tucked lunches in their boxes, filled tiny water bottles.
Clothes line the couch where they spent the summer watching Bluey.
Everything is ready for tomorrow.


As your head meets the pillow tonight, you worry.
Did I prepare them enough?
Will they be ok for 7 hours without me?
Will I be ok without them?
The school supply list covered all of their educational needs.
But nothing mentioned the caring of little hearts.
You met the teacher, and she is wonderful.
But there are things only their mother could know.
What if they can't find their class?
Who will kiss their scraped-up knees?
Will they make friends on the playground? 
So much preparation went into letters and numbers...
Did I teach them kindness and bravery too?


Tonight, we replace worries with prayer and gather our strength.
For tomorrow we send our walking-outside-us hearts to school...
They are another year older, but all we see are babies with backpacks.