The first days of school for students hold the excitement of seeing friends again and the pride of showing off a new bookbag or lunchbox.

They can also bring on a bout of the jitters when it comes to wondering who they will get as their teacher, and will those friends they have longed to see be in their classroom.

Parents mimic some of those emotions.

While it wasn’t about a bookbag or lunch box, I did look forward to the start of school because there would be a return to a routine. While the summer months saved me from being a slave to carpool lines and lunches, by the time August rolled around, I was ready for a schedule.

And like my kids, I, too, experienced some apprehension on that first day of school. It usually presented as an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach until I would learn whose classroom they would be in.

Because just like any red-blooded American mom, I wanted them to have at least a friend (or two or three) in there with them. And admittedly, there were times I had a favorite teacher I was hoping they would get.

Thankfully, every year ended in success. While they may not have gotten the teacher I had hoped for, in the end, it turned out to be the best situation for my child. And they always seemed to be able to make new friends, too.

The first day of school is a monumental moment in a child’s life.

I recall many of mine, like my first day of first grade at Jett Elementary.

It was a tough day; I had been assigned to Mrs. Harper’s classroom and most of my friends had been put in Mrs. Bell’s room.

Thankfully it didn’t take me long to get over it. I was so excited about getting the opportunity to learn how to read that not having my best friend in the classroom with me didn’t matter. And anyway, we got to see each other on the playground every afternoon.

The first day of school for children in Warren County is just around the corner.

And even if you are not the parent of a student, it’s plain to see. School supplies have been out for a few weeks and the bookbag isles are beginning to look slim.

To celebrate the return of school, we at the Vicksburg Post would like to invite readers to send in first-day-of-school pictures for a chance to appear in the paper’s print edition and in an online photo gallery.

Please submit photos — with the names of those pictured — to terri.frazier@vicksburgpost.com.

We can’t wait to see everyone’s smiling faces.