They’re dressed in their brand new school polo or dress, and mum is usually crouched down next to them, proudly displaying their new Big Kid off to Big School with their lunchbox neatly packed into the Big Bag hanging off their backs. It’s a Big Milestone.

But it was the Big Hats that got to me.

Right before my oldest started school, we moved overseas to the Middle East. A family adventure! New beginnings! We were escaping the clutches of the expensive Sydney housing market and the idea that going on an overseas trip beyond Bali would take seven years to save for.

My oldest began school six months earlier than her peers at home in Australia. It was indeed an exciting day for her and we did the obligatory “First Day” photo in her uniform. It might have been entitled “First Day Of ELEMENTARY School,” but still we had it, and she looked cute and happy and everyone applauded the Big Milestone.

But once January rolled around and the boredom of creating school lunches day in and day out had already set in for me, I realized what my daughter’s photo was missing. It was the Big Hat.

The Big Hats were a stark reminder to me of how far I was from home. How different my daughter’s childhood would be from my own. Not worse — in fact, likely much more privileged — but it was almost painful.