This will be quick, but I think it deserves to be said that in the midst of acceptances and rejections, waitlists and calculating mileage to the dream schools, there is a quiet underground of parents saying, "Thank God I'm not involved in that mess!"

I don't mean to offend parents who have agonized over their application process, or to make light of the difficulty in finding a school that is a good fit for your child. I just mean that from the outside looking in, the proces is just that - a mess.

Those of us not participating are an eclectic group - parents of very young children (though I have been told that with an 18-month-old, I'm already behind the curve in not having begun my research), homeschoolers, and unschoolers. But we share a common sigh of relief every time we look at our little ones and say, "Not yet."  We know that someday our children may have to fight for their place in an ever-expanding but woefully underfunded and undervalued educational system, just not yet.

For my family, we may never endure the drawn out saga that is CPS school applications - we plan to homeschool our son, at least initially. And with two of his three sets of grandparents pushing for private schooling, he's likely to find the bankroll needed to go that route.

So from now until school begins in the fall, I will empathize with you, share whispered tips I've heard about how to get in to That School, and help you decide if a 30-minute commute is too much for your 5-year-old.  But the truth is, when I get home, I'll look at my son, whisper a little word of thanks and say...Not Yet.