Parenting

So it's starting to sink in that this parenting thing never gets easier, the hard parts just change. I know, I know, duh Melissa. And I agree, it is quite a silly realization to come too. It has slowly been dawning on me, as I find my brain shifting from thinking about preschools to thinking about public schools. And private schools. And homeschooling. There are so many things to consider right now - do we open enroll Emma? Do we trust our local school, even though it's not the one we thought we were getting when we bought the house? Would homeschooling or private school be a better choice so the kids get lots of "extras" like art and music? Do public schools teach too much to the standardized tests? Can I survive homeschooling? Is a small private school a good choice or will it make the transition to junior high insane? And when Emma and Grant will start school is another thing to consider since they have the interesting birthdays that fall right before the cutoff. Emma will absolutely be ready for Kindergarten as an almost 5 year old, but will Grant? Too soon to tell.

We're just a few years away from sleepovers too. And drop off playdates and birthday parties. Am I ready for this? How do I equip myself to decide if a person can be trusted with my child, especially if it is a person that I meet through school, rather than the people I've been friends with for years? Emma and I are also starting to negotiate the world of her friends and my friends. She is starting to make friends with the kids in her classroom, but their moms are necessarily the moms I'd want to hang out with. And the moms I want to hang out with aren't the moms of the kids Emma seems to gravitate too. So how does that work out? No longer is Emma content to always tag along to a "playdate" that is really a momdate for me. I'm cool with meeting new people, that's for sure, it's just taking me some time to adjust to this whole thing.

Is there a manual for all this? Cause that would really help.