In eleven days I am sending my sweet baby boy off to kindergarten, but who is counting?!
How do they expect us to grow a human inside our bodies and then a short 5-6 years later leave them and then just trust that they are going to be okay? But they do. They leave us and then grow into these amazing little people who can read, share and make friends. Somehow, magically, these wizards, called teachers, get them to listen, go to the bathroom, eat their lunches and on top of those giant feats, they also help them learn and grow in so many amazing ways!
My oldest daughter will be starting 3rd grade this year. Three years ago I took my first born baby to the same school and even the same teacher I will be dropping my second born off to. She walked right in and found her name and her seat and never looked back.
I had so many fears sending her off to Kindergarten. I was scared she would get lost and no one would notice.
Somehow, she has learned where everything is at the school, who all the important people are and now navigates like she owns the place. I was scared she would somehow figure out how to break out of the playground and wander around the neighborhood. Turns out the coolest thing in the world is that, once you hit first grade at her school, all of a sudden you can access a whole other section of the playground than you could in kindergarten. They were keeping a very close eye on her despite my fear.
She didn’t know very many kids at her school. What if she doesn’t make any friends? Three years later and when I look at the class list for this year I recognize around half of the kids, all of which she refers to as her friends.
Here I am starting over with my boy. His sister was fearless and a social butterfly. He is slower to warm up and cautious of other kids. She was always super intelligent and a people pleaser so school is easy for her. He is busy, doesn’t like to sit still and much more likely to not do something just to please anyone.
So I worry will traditional school work for him? Will he make friends? Get lost? Sneak out of the playground and wander the neighborhood?
There is a saying, “There are two things we should give our children, one is roots and the other is wings.” I feel like the roots are the easy part but those wings are hard for this Mama’s heart.
If you have sent all your babies off to kindergarten or off to college we have all felt that twinge as we are asked to walk away. If this is your first time and you aren’t sure how you will have the strength to walk away, you are not alone.
I am here to tell you that twinge you feel is love, just like the immense love you feel the first time that same baby is placed in your arms. Our job is not only to provide them deep roots, so they are strong and secure, but also to give them big beautiful wings so that no place or person can contain their power and curiosity, and maybe just maybe those wings start to bud when we walk out that first classroom door.