Walking the Tightrope

In 50 days Evelyn starts Kindergarten. We agonized over which path we should take with school-the Gifted and Talented program through our local school district or a charter school where we felt very confident in the program after doing a lot of research and speaking to parents of students.  After a lot of thought and research (and a few gut checks) we enrolled Evelyn as a Kindergarten student at the charter school.

It was a major decision for us, and we believe we made the right choice.  A couple of weeks ago we drove Evelyn by her new school and she was in total awe.  Evelyn is so excited to start school, she wants to learn, eat lunch in the cafeteria and do homework.  Not sure how long her unabridged excitement will last, but for now we encourage every moment.

On our way home, we rolled the windows down and she stuck her hand out the window, belly laughing at the wind passing between her fingers.  Her arm suddenly seemed so small, just the tips of her fingers were hanging out the window.  I glanced at her and then back at the school and the weight of what was to come in just a few short weeks overcame me.

In just a couple of weeks I am going to walk up my tiny girl, whose backpack will swallow her from shoulders to knees, up the stairs of a massive school building with impressive white columns to her first day of school.  She will enter her first classroom totally unprepared for what will come and while she will be scared she will put on the bravest face she can muster.

I can feel that we are moving across the tightrope of early childhood and childhood, with slight dips on both sides until ultimately, this Fall, we have left the early stage.  So that night, I just sat and watched her giggling without abandon at her fingers slipping through the warm air knowing that everything is about to change but appreciating the moment for what it is now.