Today is Friday, June 26th. The little guy in this photo will walk across the stage today,
so thought it only appropriate to re-post “Kindergarten Moment.”
Congratulations Tyler!
This week I mailed a check to Manhattanville College; it was a deposit towards my son’s freshmen year. As I put it in the mail, I realized that over the next few months I’m going to have a handful of “Kindergarten Moments” …his senior ball, his high school graduation and the day he leaves home for college.
Why do I call it a Kindergarten Moment? Well, that’s just a term I coined a while back when I tried to make sense of why we can’t hold back the tears when we put our child on the school bus for the very first day of Kindergarten, but the next day we’re fine. What’s so different about the second day that makes it ok?
Then it dawned on me. Every moment in our child’s life, that we consider a milestone, we force ourselves to really think about what it means. We embrace it, even though it makes us an emotional wreck. Because if we didn’t, we’d miss it altogether and we’d never get that moment back. So, on the first day of kindergarten we realize that our child is no longer a baby. And we realize he or she is growing up. And we cry. We had a Kindergarten Moment. Then, on the next day, we allow ourselves to feel normal again and we go through our daily routine.
I’m trying to convince myself that this time it’ll be easier to let go. After all, he’s my third child and it’s not like I haven’t done this before. But I know deep down, it won’t be any different.
There is one promise I made to my son. As he packs his belongings for college, I will not give him any box with the STAYFREE MAXI PAD logo stamped on the side… like I used when moving into my dorm. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but in retrospect, not a good decision. I want him to have a fighting chance. 🙂
This photo was taken by my friend, Sara, who I’m sure is looking down from heaven and laughing. She was the one that always had her camera on hand to capture OUR Kindergarten Moments.
little debbie 
It is sad. As our kids go away to college it seems like there won’t be any more kindergarten moments.
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Sure there will! My other son is getting married next year… that’ll be another milestone…another Kindergarten Moment. 🙂
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I clicked into this post from Suzie81’s blogging party. And this is a great post. It reminds me of when my daughter was starting kindergarten and I was so teary-eyed. At a very wise 5 years old she told me that I had to learn to let go. Isn’t that what so much of parenting is all about? That daughter is now 26 and all grown up and professional, but I still mark the milestones in her life with emotional reactions.
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She is wise! But it’s hard to let go. 😦 Ironically, my oldest is also 26. I guess you could say he “paved the way” for the other three.
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Dang I’m already shedding tears and he’s just going to be a senior next year. School calendar came out and saw grad date and realized that was for MY KID! Yeah Deb the one you were in the phone with me at like 5 am as I think I was wondering if I was in labor as I thought I peed the bed…believe you said uh call the dr damn fool they are less than 3 min apart and don’t worry about work!
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ha! Did I really call you a damn fool? If so, I’m so sorry! Only you would worry about work while in labor (ps – I was thinking about writing a blog on labor stories…we all have some hysterial ones). And don’t worry Jen.. after graduation there’s a whole other world of Kindergarten Moments, and so, so, so much fun!!!
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This post gives a really great lesson about letting go when you know it’s the only way for the person you love to grow. I am wishing your son all the best in his college life. You are a wonderful mother. :> Thank you for sharing!
P.S. I saw this post on Suzie81’s blog party 🙂
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Awwww…thank you! 🙂
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I came to visit from Suzie’s Birthday Blog Party. Good luck with your new blog!
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Thank you!!
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Always happy to spread a little blog love. 🙂
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So pleased you had so many visits from my party! Thanks so much for sharing such a beautiful post!
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Thank you! … for the opportunity to share it! 🙂
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I can totally relate to this post. My teenage daughter and myself hung around the town drinking cups of coffee and peering through the railings of the schoolyard, on my youngest’s first day of school. Although she was the fifth child I had sent off on a new phase in their life, it was just as heart-wrenching as ever (the first time being nineteen years before that, with my eldest). 😦
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Absolutely! I have four, and when my last one goes to college, I’ll still be a wreck. My one friend refers to me as “waterworks.”
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Reblogged this on little debbie and commented:
Today is a Kindergarten Moment, just had to post again…
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