Last night, after my daughter had fallen asleep, I sat cross-legged on the floor in my living room with a pile of shopping bags in front of me. In my hand, I held a black Sharpie and suddenly I felt like the mommiest mom who ever mommed.
With a deep breath, I dove into the task at hand: writing The Princess’s name on all her school supplies. Crayons, markers, glue sticks, water colors, folders, pencils…one by one I labeled all her things and arranged them neatly in her backpack.
Her first backpack.
I’m not going to lie, I cried a little bit.
Remember how I told you I’ve been sappy lately? This whole starting preschool thing took that to an entirely new level. I have the feeling it’s going to be even worse when she starts kindergarten!
It seems like my daughter turned into a big girl overnight and I’m not quite sure I’m ready for this. However, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit excited for this new adventure. And honestly, I think I’m going to look forward to this routine every year. As a kid I loved going school shopping and putting together my backpack. I was always so excited to get to use my new stuff and, truth be told, I still get excited about notebooks, folders, and pencils. I know, I’m a little weird.
Although I had a rough time socially, on the whole I loved school and I hope my daughter does as well. Of all the things I want for her, the most important thing for me is that she is happy. Seeing as how she’ll be spending the majority of her time in classrooms from now until who-knows-when, I really want her to enjoy her time there!
This morning, I felt my heart swell up with pride as I helped her get around for the day. She was so excited to wear the pretty dress she had picked out and to finally use her new backpack. She was ready to bound out the door a good hour before we had to leave!
The day went much more smoothly than I had expected. My girl is a bit fiery and is determined to do what she wants, when she wants so I was a bit worried about her ability to follow directions. I was also a little concerned about her crying, since we’ve been having issues with her not wanting to part with me at daycare.
However, those fears were put to rest after I talked to her teacher at lunch. I was overjoyed to hear how much of a big girl she was!
When we got home The Princess opened up her bag and retrieved her folder, excited to show me all the things she made. She talked and talked about how much she loved school and her friends and I couldn’t keep the big goofy grin off my face.
My girl is growing up!
As sad as I am to acknowledge that my baby is no longer a baby, I am looking forward to see what changes this new adventure brings. Watching her learn and grow is always amazing to me. One day I’ll read over this post and wish I was back in this day, probably when she is starting high school!
Until then, I’ll just soak up all these wonderful moments.