Embracing Milesstones

My youngest had a Kindergarten celebration this week. She was - well, is- the cutest thing ever.

 

 

I felt more emotional during the musical performance and slide show than I was when she started Kindergarten. Start Kindergarten? How exciting!  Finish Kindergarten? Oh my. And they sang "Happy Trails to You" which hit my heart strings. I am going to miss her school. I really am.

Tonight I realized that I've reached another milestone. I don't really appreciate it. I don't like it at all to be honest. And, I recognize it is only the beginning. There was a time when I thought that if I made it to the end of the day and the kids were in bed, I had made it. I could relax. The preschool days were so exhausting, ya know? Ha! I am not dealing with the middle school days happily. Now when I "make it" to the end of the day, the end of the day isn't over. This week, my middle schooler is working on final projects and studying for final exams. Wait until he is finally in bed for my relax before bed time? It's insane. I am already not getting enough sleep. This is a serious adjustment that I am not making. I have not adjusted. In all fairness, I used to do the same exact thing- waiting until the last night for projects. I realize it and it drives me crazy... oh shoot, I guess I better get used to it. 

I should have snuck in the other room and took picture of him typing away at the computer for his final report for Social Studies. Oh-so-cute!

Okay, really. Kindergarten is adorable. Middle school is tough. But I still adore him. It's just different. I marvel at how he is growing. I am amazed at how he eats. His body is changing. He has a little extra hair above his upper lip. He does. Oh my gosh, he does.

I find the juxtaposition of my Kindergartener and middle schooler fascinating and bit frightening. Oh so cliché, where does the time go?

I can't help but smile.

I smile at the memory of my 6 year old daughter covering up in bed, telling me "You are the best mom ever. You are the best mom in the whole entire universe." She was so incredibly sweet. She beamed with her precious smile and love in her eyes.

I smile at the memory of my 13 year old son cracking himself up by purposely putting in this erroneous fact for me to catch when I proof-read his paper: "All in all the Revolutionary War was a great conquest, led by the first President George W. Bush." He was so remarkably funny. He laughed so hard, proud of his joke.