Another school year begins ...

Three weeks have passed since the first day of school ... and I am just now having a brief moment to blog about the kiddos big day. Of all days for it to rain ... it rained on the first day of school. My sunglasses have always been what I hid behind ... you know ... for those "Mommy meltdown moments". The moments when you realize that you child is a year older ... another year has slipped by ... and you have no idea where it went. So when the tears would always well up in my eyes ... I would slide on my trusty sunglasses ... and "hide" my emotions until I made it back to the car. So, needless to say ... the moment I woke up and saw it was raining ... I was wondering how I was gonna "hide" my emotions. This was my hard one ... Eythen's first day of preschool. His preschool started one week after the girls started school. He was MORE THAN ready to go back, but I was not ready to let him go. I knew the moment that I dropped him off for his first day of preschool ... then in 365 days ... I would be taking him to his first day of kindergarten. And I am NOT ready for that. Clint actually got rained out from work on Eythen's first day of preschool, so he got to experience taking one of the kiddos to their first day. I was snapping pictures left and right (like I always do) and at one time Clint glanced at me and smiled and shock his head ... kind of like ... do you do this EVERY first day of school. haa haa After we dropped off Eythen, I walked out of the classroom ... no tears. I walked down the hall ... no tears. I walked out the front doors of the school ... no tears. Oh my gosh ... am I gonna make it without crying???!!! We got into the car and as we pulled out of the parking lot, I glanced to my right ... and there was the soccer field that Eythen has practice on. EVERYtime we drive past it, he says "Mommy!!! That is where I have soccer at." In a way, I was waiting to hear him say it ... but he was not in the back seat ... there was just silence. SILENCE!!! Oh my gosh ... in 365 days ... I will not even have my little Eythen at home half a day. OH MY GOSH!!! And ... then the tears began to fall. Good 'ol Clint ... just held my hand ... told me to go ahead and cry ... and that Eythen was going to be ok. Oh man ... my little Bubba is about to become a little guy right before my eyes. *sigh* *sniffle*. 1st grade??? Really??? I still can not wrap my mind around it. Ever since I had the chance to become a SAHM, Harleigh and I always had "Cuddle Bug" time every Friday in my bed while Noggine would be on the tv, while Breeanna was at school. I looked forward to that day more than she will probably ever know. Now ... those Fridays are long gone *sniffle* *sniffle*. Harleigh is just a happy go lucky kid ... and the first day of school was no different than any other day. She was grinning from ear to ear ... I could tell she felt like "a big kid". As I walked her to her classroom to drop her off, I reached down to hold her hand ... but ... I did not have a little hand reaching back this time. She looked up me and smiled and said "No. I know where I am going." Talk about ripping my heart out. It was at that exact moment ... I so badly wanted to hide behind my sunglasses. She is no longer my baby girl ... she is slowly turning into a little girl with big dreams.

I can hardly believe that Breeanna is entering the 3rd grade. I swear it was just yesterday that she looked at me on her first day of kindergarten and said "Can I go now" with a big smile on her face. BUT ... just like the first day of kindergarten ... she had a big smile on her face. Third grade is such a huge step in a child's school years ... it just not seem "little" anymore. It just feels like YEARS difference from having her in the 2nd grade ... to having her in the 3rd grade. Breeanna and I have done a little "special good bye" when I drop her off at school for the past 3 years now. No one knows what we are doing, except her and I. Just a little hand gesture exchanged between her and I that mean "I love you." And luckily for me ... 3rd grade must not be "to big" to do such a thing, because she still turned around and gave me the single letting me know that she loves me ... so I quickly did it right back!!! She has turned into such a good, smart and caring kid. She is always trying to make others happy ... and I love that about her. 3rd grade ... *sigh* ... my little girl is slowly turning into a little lady with a heart of gold.