This...is a big deal for me. My youngest child is going to school. I have had babies (or toddlers or preschoolers) at home with me for over 11 years now. And now here we are. The end of an era. I'm so excited to be homeschooling Sophia this year, but this year will look differently. No more babies in the house.
School is something that Amos has looked forward to for a looong time now. I cannot tell you how many times he asked me if he could go to school last year after we had dropped Sophia and Ezra off. I knew it was time for him to go to school. He has an August birthday, and he misses the Kindergarten cutoff by 5 days. However, I was able to get him into Pre-K. I knew this was the best decision for him.
The night before his first day of school, I was praying for him while laying beside him in his bed. I did not expect the tears to come. But oh how they came! I'd had this child in my direct care for almost 5 years. I knew what his days looked like. Who he was hanging out with. The experiences he was having. And now I would not know exactly what those days looked like, but I knew that he was in our heavenly Father's care.
The night before school started, I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. You can imagine how my heart felt when he said "Teacher." 💖 I had never heard him say that before. Amos would be a great teacher.
The morning of our first day, he woke up a little grumpy. I'm not sure that he quite understood that he was really going to school. But when I had him put on that backpack.....oh his eyes widened and smile grew. He said, "I'm going to school!!"
As we were walking into school that morning, he was just bouncing along on the sidewalk. I loved seeing him so excited. My mom told me later that day that she remembers me bouncing into kindergarten with my backpack bouncing with me. 💕
His teacher's name is Mrs. Thomas, but he calls her his "Thomas Teacher." 💗💗
It was time for me to leave him, but yes, I was the creeper mom who stayed and spied on Amos while his class went to breakfast. LOL. I just couldn't stop watching him and seeing how he was doing! (He was doing totally great.) Thankfully, one of the elementary teachers in the hallway assured me that "we all have been there." Every parent is a creeper parent at some point. Haha.
When I picked Amos up that afternoon and asked how his first day went, he gave me 2 thumbs up. He loved it! :)
Oh how I'm going to miss my baby and his multiple hugs and kisses all day long! My family is entering a new season this school year. It brings me to tears thinking about how grateful I am that I have had the privilege of being home with each of my babies in their early years. What a blessing! I don't take this lightly. I can look back and say I have no regrets in this decision. I will treasure these memories ALWAYS. But babies don't keep. I'm choosing to embrace each stage of parenting that the Lord allows me to go through. And I know He will be by my side through it all. So honored that the Lord allowed me to be a mother to these 3 beautiful children.
