One More Month

So my little girl is going to start kindergarten in about a month. I have heard so many parents say things like "I can't wait til school starts and I can send the kids back!" But not me. It's all over my mind. I think about it most every day and every night as I am going to sleep. I go back and fourth about whether or not I am doing the right thing by not home schooling this year. I have been praying that I am making the right decisions for them. I worry. I know the Bible says not to worry, but I worry. I want to protect her, to keep her safe. Not just physically (although that is a huge issue in my mind) but also mentally. She is only five and I want to protect her innocent mind and heart from learning some of the things I know they talk about in school lately. So ya. I am a little worried. I know God is in control and I know He has a perfect plan for her. I just need to trust in that and find my peace there. I need to bring it to Him and leave it there.

So in the mean time I am going this weekend to start buying school supplies. What ever happened to the good old days when you brought some pencils, some glue and a backpack? Oh well. There is this small part of me that is really excited for her to begin this experience. I am excited to buy the supplies and to fill her backpack. I am mildly excited to watch her walk in to school for the first time. I think this is a huge turning point as a parent. This is where the rubber meets the road. This is where your skills as a parent are really tested and you begin to see how the years spent training your children for these days works out. I can't wait to see her shine as a student. I can't wait to see the traits I worked so hard to instill shine out in her life. She is supremely excited and every she asks if she can start school "today".

I pretend to be sad for her when I respond but inside I am glad I have that month. A few more weeks to love on her all day long. A few more mommy daughter trips to Starbucks. A few more days by the pool and lunches together at Chick-fil-a. So I guess deep down I am okay with sending her to school. I am confident in her character. She is a brilliant, amazing, loving, caring, generous, thoughtful little girl and in one month she will get her chance to show her new friends and her teacher just how special she really is. In the mean time, this month with her is mine, all mine. :)