"Moving Up"

With Monday being the "Moving Up" ceremony at Bayview Elementary of my youngest daughter, I was thinking of sentimental thoughts but actually other things seem to jump to mind ahead of those thoughts. I can save the sentimentality for her card and for family gatherings.

As other parents feel the pain of their children leaving there childhood behind..I am proud to admit...I am so happy and can't wait!! The "under the thumb" is now defunct. No more signing agendas and going over homework. No more driving up to school for forgotten homework or musical instruments. No more chaperones or parental presence at bus stops and pickups. No more snacks and juice boxes. No more class moms and notes of permission to the teachers. No more book fairs and sales that we have every mug or pen from every year before. No more cramming into a crowded gym for concerts and sitting on those folding chairs. No more labeling every book with name, teacher, room number. No more lunchboxes or cute backpacks. 

The list could go on and on.....but I don't want to seem so negative. This is not to say that these things are bad. In fact  they are not. They are all the things that as adults now we look back on and do remember as a great time in our lives. BUT ....I also believe that life in about growing and changing.

So I think it is good to celebrate the maturity and "graduating" of our children. There is no reason to be sad that those days are over. Be happy that your child is "moving up" to their next stage in life. It is time to loosen the reins and slowly let them go. It is exciting to know in just a couple of months our child will start on a path toward their teenage years. So as my family closes the door behind us on Bayview Elementary School forever, we open the door to our future, the next step our family takes.

Congratulations to all the students and families this week who are starting on THEIR new chapter (whatever that may be) of their lives. See it as an adventure to be seeked and enjoyed!!