Growing Up is Hard to Do

One of the challenges (and blessings) of motherhood is that as your children grow and pass through the various stages of life you have to live those stages over vicariously through them. Lydia starts kindergarten on Monday and is rather stressed about it, and as her mother I'm almost as anxious as she is. I watched McKenna get on the bus her first day of kindergarten two years ago and get off the bus every day since, so you'd think I'd be a pro at packing kids off to school, but I'm not. I feel all my kids insecurities as if they were my own, and even though I have a broader perspective I can identify with the overwhelming feelings they are experiencing. The terror of going into a new and unknow situation, where you are suddenly taken from everything that is familiar and forced to adhere to a new set of rules and guidelines; where you have to adapt to a multitude of personalities and figure out where you fit in the social interchange; where you have to maneuver through crowds of much older and much louder kids to reach your destination. And this is being asked of a dear, sweet, little five year old-- my innocent, naive, and relatively helpless daughter! I just pray that the experiences both she and McKenna gain while away from my protective arms will be worth it, and that each day I'll be able to welcome them back home and wrap them in the security of my love.