This was the scene at the community pool today. A ghost pool except for my son, his friend and one other lone swimmer! Las Virgenes Unified schools started today and our district, Conejo Valley Unified, starts tomorrow. Everybody is either going to school or getting last-minute supplies.

This year, our district will have a magnet and a charter school (we also have Conejo Open, an alternative to a neighborhood school that stresses parent participation). My son was accepted into EARTHS, the new science magnet. It sounds like it’s going to be an awesome school, but it’s at least 15 minutes up the 101 freeway. A few months ago – after several nights of waking up worrying about sending him to the school – I withdrew his name and enrolled him in our neighborhood school.

Officially, I blamed it on work. As a freelance writer I use his school hours to do whatever assignments and other writing I can. If so much time is eaten up in driving, that doesn’t work so well. I also reasoned that our neighborhood school is 3 minutes away (less driving = more enviro friendly), has a stellar reputation and we know so many of the kids who go there.

Yeah, I anticipated the nervous breakdowns I might have when the freeway backs up in the morning but, truth be told, I mostly just didn’t want my kindergartener that far away from home.

Today, I saw a friend of a Facebook friend post a note about how EARTHS parents planted an organic garden last week. I was confronted with a serious pang of something close to regret. I haven’t even been told who my son’s kindergarten teacher will be yet (that will be posted today at 5pm) and they’ve already planted an organic garden.

The only solace is that in almost every conversation I’ve had with other parents over the last few days – with kids attending all sorts of schools – they’ve all been bringing up the same issues…are we doing the right thing? Is this the right school for my kid? Will we get the right teacher?

Ironically, we live in one of the best public school districts in Southern California. It’s definitely the “selling point” of the area.

So after I check that posted list in a few minutes, no matter which teacher it is (even it’s the one who everyone says isn’t as great as the other ones), I’ve decided not to worry about it. It’s time to chill out, think positive for tomorrow and maybe even have a drink!