Tomorrow, my little girl starts kindergarten.
How can this possibly be? Where did the time go? Who is this five and a half year old who has preferences about which "hanitizer" scent is the best to go on her lunchbox and whether her white sparkle sandals or black sparkle sandals better match her dress? Didn't I just finish my last "first day of the new school year?"
She is looking forward to it. Her only worry about starting kindergarten is whether someone might think she is too small to be in kindergarten. Apparently, in Pre-K some hoodlum suggested that she should be in the 3-year-old class instead of Pre-K. Otherwise, she is looking forward to meeting new (and old) friends and learning new things. Her goals are to learn to read and to learn about animals and the body.
As for me, I'm trying to think of this the way Ramy does, a natural progression. When I let my mind wander to the significance of tomorrow, I get a little choked up. It means the beginning of her separation from us, the start of the time in which her peers and friends have more and more influence and we have less and less, a first stop in a line of milestones that will lead her out our front door and into the big, scary world on her own. I know that if these five and a half years have flown so quickly, the next thirteen will just as fast.
So I really try to not think too much about those things, because soon I'll be a puddle of tears, reminiscent of my own kindergarten days!
Mostly, I'm thankful. I'm thankful that my clingy, high-needs baby who needed to be held constantly has turned into a happy, confident kindergartener. I'm grateful that she is healthy, when there are children who are too sick to start school. I'm happy that she is intelligent and the world is her oyster. I'm blessed that we are able to send her to a wonderful school that will give her a nurturing, supportive, and challenging education. I'm happy that our big school girl still loves to have snuggle time and crawls into bed with us in the mornings.
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