My son started kindergarten last week, and it's been hard, really hard. Not for him - he's doing great - but for ME.

It's not the oh-no-he's-growing up emotional stuff that's left me reeling. After three years of preschool, I didn't even come close to shedding a tear this time - I almost even forgot to take a picture (those of you who have known me long are gasping in disbelief I know!)

What's been so difficult this time is navigating the maze of rules and guidelines and things I'm supposed to do that I'm forever forgetting or messing up or living in fear of doing so.

Things are much more complicated than preschool.

The first day - the very first day - I got a call saying if I didn't deliver my son's vaccination forms (on specific colors of paper) into the school ASAP he wouldn't be able to come back the next day. Can you imagine after all the buildup and hype we'd done about kindergarten telling him he couldn't go back because mommy screwed up?

It's a long story I won't bore you with about why they didn't have them, but I had to get them, and quickly. I somehow convinced our doctor - at the busiest time of year - to see us that evening. The only catch was she couldn't see us until 6:40 p.m., and since she practices in two offices, she would be in the far one-almost an hour away. My 7-month-old goes to bed at 6 p.m. every night, my husband was out of town, and there was a shot involved, so I knew it wasn't going to be pretty, but off we went and acquired the necessary physical and documentation. One near miss avoided.