The twins started kindergarten this week.

It’s hard to believe how fast they’ve grown in such a short amount of time.

They were home with me everyday last week, a short break between camp and the first day of school. Some days I thought they would never stop calling my name. Mommy this, Mommy that…it reminded me how much they need me.

 

But when they excitedly boarded the school bus on the second day, I felt like they didn’t anymore. Well, a least not as much.

They waved at me from the bus window and I was caught off guard by my sudden change of emotions.

I damn near choked myself trying to smile while holding back the tears. I didn’t want them to think I was sad without a chance to explain. It’s bittersweet, really. But how do you explain that to a five-year-old?

As the bus rounded the bend, that’s when the flood gates opened. I stood there in my front yard bawling like a baby.

I text my Dad, who always has something clever to say. I needed someone to make me laugh.

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ME: “I put the kids on the bus this morning and cried as I watched it drive away. I must be getting soft.”

DAD: “Yeah, that’s pretty soft.”

ME: “I blame it on the pregnancy hormones.”

DAD: “Soft is cool! Your Mom said the hormone thing, too when I told her. EVERYTHING moves on, even your little people. I’m proud.”

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No laughs there. Only a dose of reality that, at the moment, was hard to swallow.

While trying hard to digest what my father just said, I spend a half hour holding our 3, soon to be 4-year-old who was still asleep in my bed. I pondered the words over and over, “EVERYTHING moves on.”

As soon as I felt at peace with that revelation, my baby woke up. We had fun breakfast together, I got him dressed, dropped him off at preschool, and started my day a changed Mom…

…a proud mom of school aged children. WOW.