red-letter days

yesterday was elise's first day of kindergarden. we had prepped and prepared her for the big day. we had gone school shopping with her cousins and their mom's, she had every school supply known to man, she'd had her immunizations, her health check, her orientation, and a partridge in a pear tree. the night before, cory gave elise & ian father's blessings. it was a sweet tender moment for all of us. that night, i felt the sadness of sending elise off into the lone and dreary wilderness. we were going to miss her being gone for 6 1/2 hours every day. she does so much around the house and is just fun to be with that i knew we would feel a loss with her gone. that night, as i went from room to room checking on the little ones, i was overwhelmed with the weight of the responsibility entrusted to me. i couldn't believe that three lives were completely given to me for me to nurture and care for. and then i couldn't believe that so much of it had passed already. so i had myself a good cry and except for a somewhat sleepless night, i was ready for the day ahead. we all felt a little excitement as elise put on her school outfit, packed her backpack and got ready. i thought she seemed so grown up and yet sooooo small as we walked her to her classroom. she was a little nervous and felt a little sad, but she was so brave and i was so proud of her. we had read the scripture in josua that morning, chapter one verse nine that refers to being strong and of a good courage. and i think that's what she was. i think it was an important moment in her life, to overcome the aprehension and realize she would be okay. and she was! when we picked her up at the end of the day, she had had a great time. she really liked school as we knew she would. ian missed her a lot too. every little bit he wanted to go pick her up. i think he had a good day with us, but he felt the difference with her not there. afterwards, we we went to our favorite ice cream place and everyone got cups of homemade ice cream. it was certainly a red letter day for all of us. to top it all off, last night everyone slept in their own beds all night. i think this is the first night in five years that cory and i have had the bed to ourselves. amazing! i was proud of all three kids for doing so well, but a part of me was sad that they weren't there with me. i love snuggling with them and i felt a twinge of "they don't need me to help them sleep anymore." it was another sign that they are growing up so fast and spreading their own wings. being a parent is the most wonderful, difficult thing i could have ever imagined. but i wouldn't trade being one for anything!