If I Could Save Time in a Bottle...

Another Rite of Passage took place at our house this month. 

Noah started high school.  Seriously. 

I distinctly remember his first day of Kindergarten.  I was so very nervous and a little teary.  But, he walked in like a champ with a huge grin.  All he felt was excitement, and I was so proud!  I remember thinking then that Noah had 13 years of school ahead of him which translated into 13 years at home - practically infinite.

We have had lots of other first days since then and as time has gone by, I stopped being nervous or sad and instead became almost indifferent to them.  The first days continued to come with no end in sight.  Every year was just another in a long line of years.

But this one was different. 

It was a stepping away of sorts.  It was a first day for me to appreciate (nervous and almost teary), but also a time for Noah to begin the process of standing on his own two feet.  For the first time, I looked at my son and saw the beginnings of the man he is growing to be.  I began to truly comprehend that he is taller than me, has hair on his face, talks in a deep voice, and makes girls turn their heads (it's those eyes I tell you!).   And I was so very proud.

I realized that college is just around the corner and my time with him home full time is very finite. So, I will strive to make every day count and to use every opportunity to steal a little time with him.  He may no longer be my baby to hold and shelter and pet on, but he is my child to encourage and teach and maybe still pet on a little.  So when that next first day comes and I send my son into college, I pray I will be sending a young man who feels nervous, but prepared and ready for his future.  And maybe, if I am lucky, he will still have a little bit of a Kindergartener's excitement.



My name is Nikki and sometimes my blessings overwhelm me.