Craigmile Crew: Invaluable Years

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Invaluable Years

The date is creeping closer and closer. We've already had two months of paying tuition. In less than 2 weeks, Sally will officially be a school-aged child.

To be completely honest, we're kind of ready. We all need a little break from one another. We need a good solid routine again. However, that doesn't mean I'm not torturing myself with envisioning her walking up those great big steps of the giant yellow school bus and waving with a huge grin on her face, as she heads off to take on the world. And she will have a huge grin because the girl is soooooooooo excited!

The whole bus thing just gets me every single time. I know, come the dead of winter how much I will come to appreciate that bus because it'll mean I don't have to load up the newborn and the feisty toddler twice a day, every day, quite possibly having to wake one or both from sleeping. The bus is a very good thing, and I know that, it's just that she's only 5 and I've always brought her to where she needs to go, but this time I just need to let her go.

My little girl, the one who first made me a mama. With the anticipation of the new baby you think about snuggling a newborn again and I can vividly remember the first snuggles with Sally. How can it possibly already be time for her to start Kindergarten?

How perfect is this quote I read last night in my pregnancy journal thing:

"The mother-child relationship is paradoxical and, in a sense, tragic. It requires the most intense love on the mother's side, yet this very love must help the child grow away from the mother and to become fully independent." -Erich Fromm

I remember, 4ish years ago, being so nervous to tell the families of the school I used to teach for that I had decided to resign mid-year, to stay home and raise Sally and our future children. There were more than a handful of mothers that gave me the biggest hugs affirming the decision I had made. "You won't regret this decision for one second. The time is so very valuable and it goes incredibly fast. You can always come back to work, but you can't get back the time you can spend with your children." It was and has been the best decision we have made for our family. I'm so very thankful for the blessings we've been given in order to make this work. My goodness, it hasn't been easy, but boy has it been worth it!

The days go slowly, but the years fly by! From what I hear, once they start school, it only goes faster!

Alright alright, enough of that for now, up until this point I've done a pretty good job of avoiding reading the traditional blog posts and sappy poems of sending your first child off to Kindergarten. My one friend made a good point. What's the point of reading it? It's going to be hard no matter what. Reading those things is like self abuse. She's totally right :)

So, on a lighter note, here's what we've been enjoying this week.

Sister Moments

Perfecting the Underwater Handstand!

The Okee Dokee Brothers!

Sally was a little Star Struck--Justin smiled right at her

The concert was a complete gong show, these guys are a pretty big deal. And I fully anticipated the craziness of the event. Just thankful I didn't have to push a stroller through all of the craziness and that fact that we found a spot off to the side in the shade!