For about the past month, my daughter, Lilly, Queen of the Universe and Brightest Star in All the Heavens, has been asking me, “How many more days until school starts?” She has been SO anxious to start kindergarten or “big kid’s school.” Well, the day finally arrived.
I got to her mom’s house about 15 minutes ahead of time and she showed me several times how she’d packed her bookbag, and her new shoes, and what did I think they’d have for lunch? and “I’m not scared, Dad, well, maybe a little, but not too much.” Then, it was time.
We took pictures and when the bus got there she waved and said, “See you later,” and marched right up the steps without so much as a tear (on her part).
Damn, I remember holding her the minute she was born and wishing that moment could last forever and now she’s already starting school. I keep thinking that I better not blink or she’ll be getting married.
My grandkids are now 12 (redheaded girl rushing headlong into puberty), 8 and 9 (nearly 10 – he’d be insistent on my making that clear if he were here). And they were so tiny, such a short time ago.
There’s a line from “Sunrise, Sunset” in Fiddler on the Roof that speaks volumes to what you’re feeling:
Cherish it, plnnr – it doesn’t last long at all.
But, sir, Lilly will amaze you as she becomes a new person, over and over again – and that’s the enjoyable part of them growing up. Brandon (the 9-almost-10-year-old) has been a number of different people over the past few years, and now he’s an insightful, compassionate, wise young man, who amazes me with his insights into human nature every time we talk. I cherish my memories of the hug-prone little boy who needed to be pushed on the swings – but not too high! that’s scary! – but I welcome the person he’s become, and I look forward to meeting the new people that he’ll be at 12 and 15.