My baby graduated Pre-K last week, she is going to Kindergarten. I remember dropping her off at her first daycare 4 years ago and when I think back over those years, nostalgia makes my nose sting and tugs at my heart. But it’s not because I think “where has the time gone.” It’s more because I know exactly where the time has gone.
The time was spent worrying about her being without Mommy for the first time. It was spent diligently packing lunches and cutting up hot dogs into bite size pieces. It was spent in the car rides home, counting down the minutes until our eyes met at the doorway.
The time was spent watching her on school playgrounds from the car, and lingering just long enough after a Halloween parade to make sure she was having fun.
The time was spent praising new projects and washing messy hands.
The time was spent researching daycares during a move, feeling sad and scared to disrupt a good routine. And then it was spent wondering for weeks if she was adjusting to a new room and a new teacher. The time was spent over dinners, listening to her recount her day. It was spent at night, listening to her practice newly learned songs. And in the mornings, watching with awe as she wrote out her letters. The time was spent witnessing her act out the enrichment we were so passionate about from the start…
It was spent crying for her when she got in her first argument and cheering for her when she got Star Of The Week. It was spent on a makeshift hat for Crazy Hat Day in the Spring and debates over wearing shorts in the Winter.
Where has the time gone? The time went by in small moments when I realized she had a life outside of us, and in the big moments when I realized she was developing her own beautiful soul.
I’m starting my partnership with the MEFA and the U.FUND this month, continuing my efforts to promote early college savings plans. In doing so I’m constantly reminded that it’s our responsibility to do what we can to prepare children for the future. And while I’ve often struggled to do this while trying to enjoy the little things and stay in the moment, I’m confident the last four years of her life prepared her for this next chapter. I’m also confident I’ll spend it worrying, listening, planning, embracing, crying, teaching, cheering…and falling love in with the person she continues to become.
