It’s the first day of school! Woot woot!! Back to Starbucks lattes & browsing Target alone, back to doing whatever the heck I want to during the day, back to working out, back to eating lunch while catching up on an adult tv show, back to reading a book midday with no interruptions…the list goes on, but you get the idea.
Don’t get me wrong. Seeing the kids grow up is bittersweet. I already long for their toddler days where we just hung out together and Eric & I were the most important things in the world to them. I loved teaching them the alphabet, making farm animal noises and having little toddler conversations. I know I’m biased and all, but they were pretty sweet back then. So filled with wonder and excitement.
But, time flies…and they grow older…
Gone are the days that I can do the tiniest thing and have C erupt in a fit of giggles…Now if I do something silly, she just gives me a look and tells me I’m not funny or looks at me with a “you’re a dork” look
Gone are the days that I rock H to sleep as he snuggles into my arms…he still snuggles for a minute now, but it’s not the same
They can’t stay little forever though, nor would I want them to. I like that they are getting older. They are growing and changing into little adults that I am proud to call my own.
My big 7th grader will be 13 in a few weeks and while most days she is still that sweet girl I remember, there are other days when her inner teen is unleashed. She is a bright, talented, empathetic, loving little lady and I’m excited to see the woman she will become. I know she’s gonna be amazing!
H is a safety patrol in 5th grade this year. Last year was the first year that I didn’t take BOTH of the kids to school and walk them in. This year is the first year that I didn’t walk either of them in. I watched C drive away with daddy and I dropped H off in the car line because he had to report for safety patrol duty. It felt wrong. Like a bad dream where you’re doing something so strange and not at all what you’re supposed to be doing. School doesn’t start until 9am, but when I dropped H off at 8:25, there was a huge crowd of parents & students waiting to get into the building. It felt very weird to just drop him off, but I knew that getting out and going up to the door was pointless. It was sad to just tell him goodbye on his way out of the car though. 
He has always been my baby boy. He was a bit of a high maintenance little dude when he was younger and even though he drove me insane sometimes, I think I like that he “need”ed me so much. I have to say though, he’s growing into quite the little man…smart, handsome, funny, talented, driven and chivalrous…I couldn’t ask for more!
