Back To School!

Okay - so it's been a hectic couple of days!!

DD started fourth grade (can you believe it?!?!?) this year and DS started Pre-K. My babies are growing. I was almost tempted, wait, go back and underline almost, to say that I want another baby. Let me think back to the past 9 years...yeah, I'm good. No thanks.

So it's been crazy. We now have a new routine for when we get home and a new routine for the morning. Surprisingly, we have made it out of the house and I've managed to get everyone to their designated locations and myself to work on time and even early! I'm still having a hard time believing it.

Well, here we go. Piles of paper to sift through each night, multiplication tables to recite, hand writing assignments. reading logs, coloring pads, massive amounts of pencil shavings and eraser scrapings. Smelly lunch boxes, sticky pockets and worn out clothes. I love that my kids are growing and learning, but I sadly look back at times when they weren't so busy, when they were smaller and not afraid to kiss me before class. When I knew all the words to the songs they were singing and the coolest dance was a toss up between the hokey pokey and head-shoulders-knees-and-toes.

So, while I sit here and type, and look up a reading list appropriate for a fourth grader, I reflect a little on my children's growth, who they were, who they are. I know I wonder the same as every parent, "am I doing enough?" I wonder quietly if the books she chooses will change the path on who she is to become. Will the pages he color reflect his decisions tomorrow? Do favorite colors really define a person?

I can sit here and wonder all night long, and miss out on my favorite time of day: putting them to bed, hearing them laugh and giggle about the things they did during the day, the excitement they hold for tomorrow. Listening to them say their prayers; one still reciting and the other as if having a conversation. My goodnight kiss from each of them, the only one they aren't shy about sharing.

"There are two lasting bequests we can bestow upon our children: One is roots, the other is wings." Hodding Carter