Wednesday, June 23, 2010

The Last Time

This morning I attended a celebration in honor of Lauren "graduating" from kindergarten. It was the last time that my daughter would need to attend one of these functions for her own children.

You may be thinking, "well, it's only kindergarten, for goodness sake!" Maybe so, but it's still the last time. The last time one of them would be young enough to need to learn the alphabet or how to print letters, or to count or spell. The last time one of them would have to go through the cafeteria line learning how to pay for lunch and carry the lunch tray to their seat without spilling anything. The last time the first day of school would be a "brand new" experience. The last time my daughter would have watch as the school bus disappeared down the road, taking her "baby" away for the entire day. The last time one of her children would be excited about going to 1st grade next Fall.

I don't know, it seems pretty bittersweet to me.

I had tears in my eyes as I drove to school this morning. For my daughter. For me. I had my share of those last times. On the other hand, they were always accompanied by some really exciting first times.

Jessica's son will be attending his first semi-formal dance tomorrow night. For him tomorrow is the last time he'll be a middle-schooler. He'll start his high school career in Sept. Seriously, he was 5 just a couple of months ago.

So, after the program, we girls went for breakfast at Friendly's. To celebrate the start of Lauren's elementary career!





4 comments:

Bridget said...

these are too precious.
you made me tear up a bit.
our children and grandchildren seem to be the backdrop of all we do.
happy days!

Anonymous said...

What a treasure...Lauren is darling and it seems like yesterday when Jessica was that age...enjoy as they grow up far too fast...Jean

trishalyn said...

Absolutely precious!!! :-)

Framing Images and Memories said...

Stages of life are emotional times as you describe so well. It is always bittersweet to see those you care for move on to another chapter/adventure/challenge.
Nice photos.