The Start of a New Year

Well, we are half way through our second week of school and are still chugging along.  Dare I say it has been a fairly smooth transition?!?  I closed daycare for the first day.  We had their chore charts in place and the morning went smoothly with plenty of time to take pictures.  Cora was excited, and Beau was indifferent.  There was no reluctance to head off to school from either one.  As the bus drove away Cora gave Sylvie and I a big wave from the window.  Sylvie held her tears in all the way back to the house before bursting into sobs.  She doesn't like the idea that her big sister gets to go somewhere without her, and she's just plain going to miss her.  It will take a few days to get used to having her gone.  We baked cookies and ran errands to distract ourselves.

Sending Cora off to Kindergarten filled me with an odd mix of emotions.  My heartache was less about worry for her (I know she's more than ready) and more about my little girl growing up, starting a new chapter in her life which I'll have to settle for merely hearing about and not being a part of.  It's hard.





I did really well until a friend of ours sent me a few pictures from school.  They got me all choked up and and had me fighting back tears.  On one hand I was so happy that she was with Rory. I knew she had somebody familiar and they would make it through this new experience together.  On the other hand just seeing her in the school surroundings hit me hard.  My little girl, all on her own, I knew this was one of many times that I would be forced to let go when I wanted to hold on oh so tight.

For Beau, (our big 2nd grader!) it was less about letting go and more about settling back into an established routine.  It was still hard to send him off, but I found myself focused on how quickly he became a 2nd grader, and desperately trying to block out the images of him leaving for college.  He has established friendships, knows the lay of the land, and is ready for a new year.  Of course there will always be worry (I'm a mom, that's what I do), but the newness is taken out of the equation.

I found myself looking at Sylvie throughout the day with a lump in my throat, counting the months before she too (my baby) will be leaving for school.  It was easy to take our time baking cookies, read extra stories, and spend time snuggling before nap.

Yes, my kids are growing up, and all too quickly it seems.  Each stage is a blessing, but sometimes it's hard to move from one into the next.