There is something about the start of the 2026-2027 new school year that feels a little bittersweet. The backpacks are packed the night before the start of the week on August 18th.

The school supplies are bought months prior, the new shoes are tied just before heading out the door around 8:00 am, and suddenly the house is filled with the excitement and the chaos of another school year beginning.
For some moms, it is the excitement of sending their baby off to kindergarten. For others, it is watching a teenager begin another chapter. For most military families, a new school year can sometimes mean starting over in an entirely new place.

“I felt emotionally prepared for the start of the school year, although it is definitely a bittersweet and exciting milestone.” Explained Kauther Coffee, a mom sending her oldest child off to kindergarten, who felt excited and nervous all at once.

“I’m so proud of how much she has grown and the little person she is becoming, but seeing her start kindergarten makes me realize how quickly time has gone by.”

Coffee said five-year-old Nova Mae, “seems excited about starting kindergarten and is looking forward to making new friends, learning new things, and having new experiences. She expects there may be some normal first-day nerves, but overall, Nova Mae is excited and ready for this new adventure.”

“As her parent, I’m excited to support and encourage her as she begins this important new chapter,” Coffee said.
For mom Lisa Schafer, whose two boys are thirteen and eleven, the first day of school at Memorial Middle School doesn’t necessarily get easier. It just changes.

“This first week has honestly been a pretty emotional one for us. They were in the German school system their entire lives, so transitioning them into American school was a HUGE change for all of us.”

“Their first day [of school on Minot AFB] was definitely a ‘holy crap, we actually made it’ moment for me. After everything it took to get them back here and get them settled, seeing them walk into their American school for the first time was incredibly emotional.”

For Schafer, the biggest part has been realizing that getting her kids settled physically was only the beginning.
Schafer realized that returning home was only the beginning, and adjusting emotionally to their new normal has been just as important as getting everyone physically settled.

“Starting over is part of our story.”

For another Minot AFB mom Monique McDonald, who is in the middle of a PCS to Texas, the beginning of a school year can bring a completely different set of emotions.

“Trying to manage a household while packing and my daughter starting middle school for a week and a half, then moving to start a new school a week later in Texas is overwhelming and hectic.” McDonald was thankful “to have a husband that helps tackle the challenges and handles the grunt work”

“My daughter wanted to start school here because she has developed solid friendships here in Minot. …. but her being with her friends and having as normal of a life as she could before we move was important to us as her parents.”

It is likely that many military moms understand that sentiment too.

Whether you have lived here your whole life or just arrived this summer, or the past seven years the beginning of a school year gives all of us an opportunity to start fresh.

And maybe a little more patience with yourself, because while your children are learning and growing, so are you.
So, to the mom standing in the school drop-off line trying not to cry, the mom packing lunches before the sun comes up, the mom sending her teenager off with a quick “Have a good day” while secretly worrying about everything, and to the mom starting another chapter in a new place: you aren’t alone.

Take the pictures. Give the extra hugs. Let them pick the silly backpack, and when that first day finally comes, remember that you don’t have to have it all figured out. Neither do they. You’re both just beginning another year.
Sometimes, the best part of motherhood is getting to watch your children grow while realizing that you are growing right alongside them.