kindergarten

Dear Ava:


I would tell you how much I will miss you when you start Kindergarten on Monday, but I know that will make you sad. So instead, I will just hug you tight and smile at you big and tell you how much you will love Kindergarten and how excited I am that you get to experience it. I will look you in the eye and keep you there until you believe it, too.  


You will love it, it is true.


But it is also true that I will miss you in the daytime. I will miss you in the noontime. And I will miss you those moments in between. 


As a very young girl, I considered time and its passage something to be mourned. I focused on the "never again will I's" rather than the, "oooh, what's coming next?". 


At first, having you in some ways made it worse.  But watching you grow and learning from your curiosity and general acceptance of "things" has made it much much better.


I now realize that time and its passage is something to be thankful for.


Thank you God for keeping us healthy and safe that I may be there to watch my daughter say her first word, take her first step, sing her first song, run her first race. Thank you for allowing me to see her first jump from the diving board and watch her fall asleep for her last summer nap.  


Thank you God for getting us to her first day of Kindergarten.


(And Ava, I hope you're not too upset that you're new backpack won't be here in time for school. But I have a feeling that using your old, familiar green one will be just fine with you.)


I love you. I can't wait to see what's next.