5 Things Senior Moms Need to Know Before Senior Year Gets Away From You
If you have a high school senior, first of all… how are we doing? 😂
I shared these five things senior moms need to know on social media because after going through senior year with my oldest, there were so many little things I either didn't know, didn't think about early enough, or wished someone had just told me.
And apparently a LOT of other senior moms felt the same way.
Senior year is such a weird mix of being incredibly exciting and also realizing, Oh my gosh, this is actually happening.
There are senior pictures and homecoming and college applications and graduation parties and dorm rooms—and somehow you're supposed to remember to enjoy your child in the middle of all of it.
So if you're heading into senior year, here are the things I would tell you to start thinking about now.
1—
Schedule the Senior Pictures
Do this earlier than you think you need to.
Obviously you want senior pictures because it's their senior year and you're going to want approximately 4,000 pictures of them. But you'll also need those pictures for more things than you realize.
You'll use them for graduation announcements, their senior ad, graduation party decorations and probably a million things you'll want to post throughout the year.
Photographers also book up, especially during the pretty fall months.
So book the photographer, get the pictures taken and have them ready to go.
Future You will thank you.
And while we're talking about pictures—take the random ones too.
Take pictures before school. With their siblings. Before the football game. With their friends standing around your kitchen.
Even when they say, "Mommmmm."
Take it anyway. 😂
2 —
Start Thinking About the Graduation Party NOW
I know.
If you're reading this at the beginning of senior year, planning a graduation party probably sounds ridiculous.
It isn't.
I'm not saying you need to order balloons nine months early. 😂
But start a Pinterest board. Save the graduation party ideas you actually like. Think about whether you're having it at home or somewhere else. Start saving pictures you might want to display.
And then watch for sales throughout the year.
If you see frames, decorations or something you know you'll use, grab it and put it away.
When you're emotional in May and graduation is two weeks away is not when you want to discover that you need 47 things for a graduation party and everything costs twice what you thought it would.
A little planning throughout senior year makes graduation season SO much easier.
3 —
Make an Amazon List Before Christmas
This was one of those things that felt a little premature until suddenly it didn't.
Start an Amazon list for the things your senior is going to need over the next year.
Then when grandparents, family members or friends start asking what they want for Christmas or their birthday, you already have ideas.
You can add things they'll need for graduation, college and eventually their dorm.
Instead of getting a bunch of random things, they're getting things they'll actually use during this next season.
And once college is getting closer, that list becomes VERY handy.
I've put the senior year, graduation, college and dorm things we used, loved or wished we'd thought about earlier all in one place so you don't have to start from scratch.
4 —
Yes, Start Thinking About the Dorm
I know this feels WAY too early.
You're still trying to survive senior year and now I'm telling you to think about a dorm room they don't even have yet.
Hear me out.
You do NOT need to go buy the entire dorm section of Target in September.
Please don't. 😂
But you can start paying attention.
There are basics they'll probably need regardless of where they go—towels, laundry things, storage, bedding basics and all those little dorm essentials that add up FAST.
If you know they'll need it eventually, add it to your list and watch for sales.
Spreading those purchases out throughout senior year can make the summer before college a whole lot less overwhelming.
Once they actually choose their college and you know which dorm they'll be living in, then you can get more specific about measurements, colors, roommate coordination and what the school already provides.
And trust me, I have PLENTY more to say about dorm shopping. 😂
5 —
Don't Let the Logistics Steal Senior Year
This is the one that matters most.
There is so much to think about during senior year.
College applications.
Money.
Deadlines.
Scholarships.
Graduation.
What they're doing next.
Whether they're ready.
Whether you're ready.
And while all of that is happening, there are these tiny little lasts happening all around you.
Their last homecoming.
Their last high school football season.
Their last Christmas as a high school student.
Their last first day of school.
You don't have to make every one of those moments sad. In fact, I don't think you should.
Sometimes Tuesday can just be Tuesday.
But notice it.
My Bonus Tip: Soak It In
People will tell you senior year flies by.
They're right.
And I know "soak it all in" sounds like one of those things people say that isn't particularly helpful when you're drowning in applications, schedules and graduation plans.
But I understand it now.
Take the picture.
Let the friends come over.
Go on the Target run.
Sit in the kitchen a little longer.
Listen when they actually decide to talk.
Try not to spend the entire year worrying about what's coming next.
Because the craziest part about senior year is that while you're preparing them for what's next, you're still living this.
And this part is worth paying attention to too.
