Congratulations! Charlotte Wilson wins KTAR’s Mother of all Contests

First, we had no idea we’d receive the quality of entries that came in and we’re grateful for the level of participation we received. Thank you KTAR moms.

After receiving and evaluating more than 100 entries for KTAR’s “Mother of All Contests” a winner had to be picked.

Congratulations to Charlotte Wilson!

Charlotte is the winner of an iPad, a family photo session from Vicki Lynn Photography and she will be writing a blog weekly on KTAR.com.

Starting in mid-July you will regularly see Charlotte’s posts about being a mom, her kids and what’s going on in Arizona.

Below is her entry after we asked the finalists to write an entry on the subject of “The First Day of School.”

If I had a nickel for every time I pulled a hamstring chasing my 2 year old through the cereal aisle while my 5 year old threw a fit because I wouldn’t buy her a horse/ice skates/cat food (we don’t have a cat) looking up to see a woman giving me that thoughtful and nostalgic stare. And just like clockwork. 3.2.1.

“Enjoy this time. It goes by so fast”
Really? Now? I’ve broken a sweat and haven’t a clue why I came here in the first place. Vacations in Cabo go by fast. But when a trip to Target feels like completing the Ironman, it’s hard to think about cherishing this time.
No matter how bad the tantrum I would still get the same look, followed by the same comment. I understood the sentiment but there was no way that I could fully understand the meaning until that Monday.

It was my daughter’s first day of Kindergarten.

It happened just like that. One minute I was figuring out how to strap her in on the way home from the hospital and then literally the next, she was sprinting to the school bus without as much as a look back.

As I watched the bus drive away with this amazing being that I haven’t let out of my sight for 5 years there was a deep, dull, aching feeling. Isn’t this when I should be running through a field of dandelions and unicorns? I felt like crawling in a hole.

She ran to the playground with the wild abandon that she approaches everything else. I smiled thinking of all the days that felt like they would never end. I looked up and realized I wasn’t alone. I wished that group hugs were acceptable, because there were at least 5 parents that desperately needed one.

We were all smiling and waving trying to project the strongest, most supportive front while crying behind our sunglasses.

At that moment that I turned to one of the moms and said,
“It goes by so fast, doesn’t it?”