My son is going off to Kindergarten. Like, gone 2 or 3 days a week, all day. By himself. No parents. No Nana or PopPop. Gone! I am having a bit of a hard time with it!!
My little Nathan, born 3 months early, weighing less than 2 lbs is going to Kindergarten. Will he fit in? Will the kids accept him? Will he get lost? Will the teachers there understand him and be patient with him? Will they grow to love his curiosity and clever mind? Will he do what he is supposed to do? Will he eat any of his lunch? Will he stay on the playground with the kids instead of wandering off through the paths in the woods near the school? Will he enjoy it? So much to think about and worry about and it is hard to let go. He did do preschool last year, but there is somehow a difference between 2.5 hours a few days a week and all day a few days a week! I will miss those adorable brown eyes asking me for food all day long.
My job all these years has been to protect him and keep him safe. Now I have to put that trust in another person. Letting her have the reigns those few hours each day. But, when I really step back and think of it anyway, he is really only mine for a time. I have no guarantee of 60 years with him nor his health and well-being. I have this moment, these hours, these days to make the most of and enjoy. I know he is in God’s hands and is only mine on loan anyway. An incredible blessing!
I get it. I finally get it. I was the teacher who would laugh at those parents who couldn’t say goodbye and who left with tears in their eyes. Now, I completely and totally get it. I will be one of them! Your most precious possession and you have to leave them in someone else’s hands.
He is ready. I will cope. He will learn how to read this year and how to make friends. He will have successes and failures and will grow up a lot. He is no longer a baby. He is truly a big boy and is ready to spread his wings.
Let the adventure begin. Well, not today. Next week let the adventure begin. Until then, I better start collecting tissues!
