September | 2013 | Somewhere In The Middle

You know what’s weird? Having a kindergartner. I mean, it’s not weird, per say. Rylee is 5 years old. I guess it’s just more weird to think about. When Andy & I talked about having kids, all the way through giving birth to Rylee, I never really thought past the baby stage.

Now here I am, the mom of a kindergartner.

See? Weird.

Kindergarten has been met with both excitement and apprehension.

Rylee’s first day of kindergarten (and only day the entire week) was last Tuesday. It was more of an introductory “get to know your teacher/tour the school day”. Andy was able to go in to work a little late so he could be there when we dropped her off. Then I took the day off so I could pick her up and spend the rest of the day with her. Afterward, we went out to lunch then ran a few errands.

Today was her first “real” day of school. Her whole class will be there. She rode the bus.

She rode the bus.

Over the course of the last week or so whenever the bus ride was brought up she’d act shy, scared, timid, etc. We’d talk through it, calm her uneasiness and move on. Last night she was particularly nervous.

But this morning? This morning was a different story. She was ready to go early. She didn’t want to miss the bus! We were down at the end of our driveway with 10 minutes to spare. Once our neighbors were at the bus stop she hopped out of the car and sat with them. I knew she would be fine.

One of our neighbors is a first grader and she & Rylee are good friends. They already had plans to sit next to each other on the bus.

Pretty soon the bus came, she looked back and waved and climbed on board.

As we had previously planned, I followed the bus about halfway to school. When it made the turn off the main road to pickup more kids, I went to the school and waited for her.

The bus pulled in about 25 minutes later. She walked off the bus, a smile on her face. She saw me, seemed surprised, said “Oh hi mom!” gave me a hug then turned to head into school.

And just like that, we have a kindergartner, folks.

The other night at dinner Reese was being her usual goofy self trying to get us to laugh. She was also practicing saying “more”. And her other usual cute antics. Andy looked at Rylee and told her that watching Reese is reminding him of how she was when she was that age. Wide-eyed she wanted to know more. Andy went on telling her about all the things he remembered about her when she was around a year old.

That all got me thinking. There is so much about when Rylee was a baby that I don’t remember. As Reese grows, that becomes so much more evident. In my 5 short years of parenting, if I’ve learned anything at all, it’s that it goes by so fast.

Of course I’m still not one of those “enjoy every moment” moms, because I’m realistic. And I hope I never catch myself saying that. {if I do say it, and you catch me, you have my permission to throat punch me}

But there are moments I wish I could just freeze time. Not forever, but just for a few extra moments so I can close my eyes tight in order to etch them into my brain and remember them forever.

I hope I never forget how she tugs on her ears when she’s tired.

I hope I never forget how her hair falls over her forehead, despite me trying to brush it out of her eyes. Or how the wispies stick out and rest over the top of her ears.

I hope I never forget how big her eyes are and how long her lashes are.

I hope I never forget how she sweetly pats my back when I lift her out of her crib after nap.

I hope I never forget how her face looks with that binkie plugged in.

I hope I never forget how she climbs up in that chair, that used to be Andy’s grandmothers, and will just sit calmly against the wall.

Somewhere In The Middle

Mostly Average Accounts of the World's Okayest Mom.

Monthly Archives: September 2013

Big Kid Status: Kindergarten

I hope I never forget.