Sunday, August 24, 2008

Thoughts on Kindergarten


It's just hitting me now, the night before my little Tatum starts kindergarten, how fast the time has gone. I have so many thoughts that are just now surfacing. I've been so focused on making sure she has school clothes, shots, registration, and meet-the-teacher night taken care of that I haven't had time to realize what a momentous occasion this is. Didn't we just barely have her? Weren't we just remarking that she was walking? And now, school. The little-kid days are over. The home-with-Mom days are over. Starting tomorrow at 11:30, Tatum is in school, and life is different forever. It's her official transition to becoming a big kid. I'm so proud of her and nostalgic at the same time. This is the first time I've really felt the way it tugs on my heart to know that everything I'm teaching her is preparing her to leave someday. It's bittersweet. I've been so excited for her to start school, and now I don't know if I'm ready to let her go.

1 comment:

Mike and Shelby said...

oh, what tender thoughts, Sara.

If it makes you feel any better, I saw those thoughts on the expression of every one of the parents who dropped off their child for the first time to my kindergarten classroom. You are so not alone. And it was those expressions that reminded me on a daily basis how special those kids were in the eyes of their parents. I loved each of my students, but that's exactly what they were to me: students. My love couldn't touch or compare to the love their parents had for them (as it should be.) So, those parents whose faces were torn between excitment and pain were just what I needed to take me to that next level of commitment. And I greatly appreciated the trust they put in me everyday.

...and every year, those first timer kids did just fine transitioning too! :)