Back to School Time!!!!

With the hustle and bustle of the new school year beginning, I sit back and take a look at what I've been lucky enough to witness.   There are several of my friend's kids that I have watch grow up to be the well...ahem...er...adjusted individuals they are today....lol  In all honesty, these kids are great!  Some I wish I had a better connection with and others I miss being around because of just the ins and outs of the day.  

Looking at the first day of school pictures is always a treat.  Sadly, I can certainly say my mother never took those of me.  I'm not sure why or why not.  I distinctly remember getting myself ready because I was too independent even for my mom sometimes.  **thinking to myself**...so that's where the bug gets it from :)  Do I regret not having my first day of school captured?  Maybe, probably not because I'm sure the style of hair left a lot to be desired!!!  None the less, I love seeing all of the pictures of returning students ready to be filled with knowledge, gain new friendships and make memories.  A couple of the kids I saw I look at their pictures and I am just baffled!!!  You are supposed to still be small and need help, not so damn grown that you are independent!  One young man I met when he was 3.  Kind of shy, very quite, sensitive in all the right ways.  He was such a cutie!!!  Now I look at him and my heart actually twisted into a tad bit of pain.  Looking at how much he has grown and where he is going made me sad and happy all at the same time.  This little boy who is growing up right before my eyes was the first kid to actually take to me and he was my bud!  Now, he's got two amazing younger brothers, two awesome cousins and a love for my daughter.  His change is the one that impacted me the most.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe it's the bond that we formed and still continue to work on even now.  All I know is that he will always have a special place in mine and the bug's heart.  

On the way to daycare as I was seeing the buses driving by, parents walking their kids to the bus stop and car loads of uniformed kids, I looked in the rear view mirror into the mirror on the back of my seat and I see my bug.  She is quietly listening to classical, as we listen to every morning, and she is just patiently sitting there.  Waiting to get to school.  Waiting for mommy to give her goodbye hugs and kisses and to blow kisses on the other side of the glass door.  Sitting.  Quite.  Thoughtful.  And my heart welled up and the tears came down my face.  My little girl is growing up right before my eyes and soon I will be taking her to VPK and then to Kindergarten.  I know it's inevitable but all of a sudden I missed her being small.  I missed my friend's 3 year old.  Where is the time going???  Why does it have to go so fast??  

Congratulations to all the parents today that have taken their kids back to the first day of school.  To the emotional, I know I'll be a damn mess, moms that too their babies to the first day of Kindergarten to the moms that are embarking on the final year of school before college.  My hats off to you and my thanks for letting me be a small part in your journey into Back To School.