Slowly, Please

This morning Sara came down in a green Reynosa, Mx, T-shirt.

"Sara, it just snowed. Go put on a long-sleeved shirt."

"But Mom. It's green and I don't have a Green Bay Packers T-shirt so I am wearing a green shirt."

Oh-yeah. Sara mentioned that her class was all going to wear Green Bay Packer gear, but when she told me last week she didn't know when. There wasn't anything in the weekly class newsletter about it. I suggested she find out when this was going to happen and then we would take a trip to Kohl's, but Sara didn't bring it up again until this morning.

I sent a sweatshirt she could put over her T-shirt in case she got cold. She came home excited about the Packers earrings her teachers wore.

I am proud of Sara for managing part of her life without me, for figuring out how to get by in this big world. But at the same time, part of me misses being her entire world. I had that same sinking feeling when she started pre-school, went she joined Awana, and when she began kindergarten. It was harder on me than on her.

Kids grow up and become increasingly independent. It goes so fast.

Now she attends school three full days each week. That's about right for me. She will add a day at the end of January, and another day by the end of the year. She will be gone five days a week, and I am not ready for that.

I want her to become independent, but slowly, please.

That gives us more rationale for homeschooling--she will become independent, but we can savor our short time together. We're considering, when Todd quits working, he might homeschool her while he is able. What a valuable use of time.