As soon as I confirmed my daughter's first day of school several months ago, I plopped that date into my calendar and set that as the starting line for when things would begin to really change. I should have reminded myself of all the other tasks and appointments that would pop up before then. I spent a good chunk of early August lining up babysitters so I could attend a handful of parent-teacher orientations and preschool open houses. I was glad to have those opportunities to acclimate myself with my child's new school, but I had no idea what a time commitment it would be.