The first day of school is an exciting and scary time for everyone. For many parents of older children, there’s a sense of freedom and relief that comes with the first day of school. They embrace the return to order and routine while often sadly bidding farewell to the carefree days of summer. For many parents who are sending their children off to school for the first time, there’s excitement but there’s also sadness and anxiety for both the students and their parents. While we often see those funny pictures parents post signaling their joy that it’s back to school time, one dad wrote a sweet tweet that proves that parents also struggle with sending their kids to school.

Mikel Jollett, the frontman for the Los Angeles-based indie rock band The Airborne Toxic Event recently posted on Twitter about sending his son to pre-school for the first time and his words really resonated with parents. “Good morning, everyone. Today is our son’s first day of Preschool” he wrote. “It’s an oddly emotional day. I’m both very proud of him and the parenting my wife and I have done and very sad for reasons I can’t quite explain. Parents: How did you deal with this?”

With many understanding just how Jollett felt, they quickly to chimed in with advice that ranged from funny to poignant.

“Firstborn? You cry. Every kid after that? You dance back to your car and go out for a leisurely breakfast," wrote one commenter. "Ate my feelings & cried. A lot," wrote another.

"It’s just the shadow of parenting. We don’t own them, we’re just borrowing them for awhile. They belong to themselves, and each milestone is a bittersweet reminder of that," wrote one insightful commenter, to which Jollett replied writing, "Wonderfully said. Thank you."

Others couldn't help but comment on how much harder it gets as children grow older. "Brace yourself.... it gets harder... like when they drive themselves to high school.... and when they leave for college.... and then move to the other side of the country," read one comment, with another commenter adding, "Wait until you drop him off at college."

Jollett posted an update, writing that "He cried when we left him. We smiled and said bye then went outside and cried in the car When we picked him up he ran into his mother’s arms then demanded a kiss from dad. In the car on the way home, he chanted, “School, hurray!” a bunch of times. Life moves forward."

Life indeed moves forward, but it isn't always easy. Jollett's post proves that it's ok for parents to feel as much anxiety as their children on those first days of school and that there are always other parents there to lend a sympathetic ear or to give some solid advice on how to deal with all the changes that come with having kids as they grow up and experience new adventures.

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