Today we are featuring a guest essay from fellow mommyblogger and friend of our site, Elizabeth of Table for Five.

I The house has a different kind of silence to it on the first day of school. It’s not the same as when the boys are sleeping over at a friend’s house or at Grandpa’s. It’s different than a weekend morning when I’ve slept in and wake up to find that my husband has taken the kids to Home Depot.

This is the silence of knowing that my boys are gone for the whole day, for every day this week and the next until June. June! And not only are they gone, they are in the care of other people who are not relatives.

It’s not like they’ve never been to school before, I know. My feelings, however, seem intensified this year. Last September, I’ll admit it was a relief when school started and I could get on with my bed rest, spending my days lying on my left side on the couch watching “A Baby Story”. Over the summer, however, the boys and Kaitlyn and I spent every day together, delighting in caring for her as a team. We grew closer than ever this summer, and now I miss them.

I worry about Nathan, who was diagnosed with a learning disability at the end of last year. He gets distracted easily, gets frustrated when something doesn’t make sense, more so than most kids. In social situations he gets excited and then he mixes up words, sometimes saying the opposite of what he means. The neighbor kids tease him about it, and although we’ve told him to just ignore the teasing, that’s easier said than done for him. I hope he finds good friends who can help him stay on track in class. He also has a “team” in place to monitor his progress, and a resource teacher who will take him out of class for a short time each day for extra help. And yet, I worry.

I know they will be fine. It’s a good school with caring teachers and an attentive principal with an open-door policy. I know I will be fine. It will be nice to go to the grocery store with only one child in tow, and finally be able to get the house clean without two boys messing it up right behind me.

And yet, it is too quiet in my house today. There is too much silence. The T.V. is off, the Xbox is off, and the playroom computer is off. The Legos are just lying there in their box. There’s no fighting over who took the black Bionicle mask or whether it’s fair that one had a snack and the other didn’t. I didn’t realize how much I valued and enjoyed my sons’ company until today. When they get home from school, I’m going to tell them, I missed you.

To read more by Elizabeth, be sure to visit her personal blog Table for Five.