Today is Max's last day of preschool/daycare. He is spending it taking a field trip to Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend and going out on a high note. I'm not sure he realizes yet that not being at school anymore will mean not seeing many of his friends that often, or his teachers. Right now, he's just looking forward to a summer at home before he heads off to kindergarten.
Listen, I'm not a mom who looks back at the baby days with longing and sadness for those firsts that we'll never experience again. But still, I have to tell you that I have enjoyed every bit of Max's life up to this point. He was an adorable baby and toddler, lower lip leading him every step of the way. He was a precious little boy, forever trying to catch up to his big brother and make his own way at the same time. And now he's a smart and caring and thinking person who will need me less and less along the way. To me, that means I'm doing something right in this mysterious parenting gig.
This age that he's at right now, and these steps he's about to take -- it's monumental for him. He's been at the same daycare since we moved here when he was a baby, and he is secure and happy there, and now he will learn to be secure and happy in a new place. And if I get a little misty in a couple of months when he straps on his backpack and walks through the school doors, it won't be with nostalgia for what came before, but with pride for how far he has come, and for the way he can bravely square up and take the next step into his own bright future.
1 comment:
Beautifully written, Holli. You really capture Max and motherhood, and so beautifully.
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