Endings

Blessings always, my sweet boy!

Not always, but often, endings tend to be sad.  Today marks the ending of an era for Dylan.  It is his last day in elementary school.  And even though he is excited...he is also sad...and so am I.

For a variety of reasons, Dylan's elementary school experience has been an atypically long one.  I remember thinking of it as endless.  But as with everything in life, today, it is finally ending, and I just can't seem to get a grip on it.  He is my baby.  Therefore, gone are the days of frantically scrambling to put together Halloween treat bags, concocting healthy birthday snacks, finding the perfect Valentine's Day cards and making the coolest box to collect them.  Gone are the opportunities to chaperone a Junie B. Jones play or to become a "Room Mom."  There will be no more open houses visiting just one main teacher, and there will be no more superhero-themed backpacks at the beginning of the school year.

Sigh...

My baby is growing up...soon he will enter the teen-years...and I don't really feel prepared for that, which is the reason why today is sad.

Sigh...

But as I watch him board that 8:20 a.m. bus for the very last time, I'm excited for the new beginning that waits around the corner.  And I trust that his steps will continue to be guided by The Holy Spirit as he embarks into his new adventure next year.

In the meantime, I pray that I can just sit on the moment and enjoy the last few months of Dylan being just a boy.  I want the Lord to help me savor the weeks ahead, forget about the future and just dive into the summer with a spirit of gratitude and contentment, to make wonderful memories.

Yes, not always, but often, endings tend to be sad.  And even though the melancholic feelings of today may make it blue, I am in awe of the privilege of having had the chance to experience the great adventure that it was to be an elementary-school Mom.  Praise the Lord for that!