Shine a Light on Me

I love that totally sad, pathetic post from last night.  Why?  Because it's real.  It's what I felt in that moment.  I don't care if people think I'm an overbearing silly mom, because I cry at the thought of my kid going to Kindergarten.  It's the way I am.  I'm programmed to feel things deeply and emotionally, and crying is a great gift--whether it be joyful or sorrowful.

Today a close friend made me see the light, made the sunshine come out, and she reminded me how lucky Kindergarten is to get our sweet girl.  She's going to bring joy to her teacher--hopefully everyday.  She's going to come home enlightened with new knowledge everyday.  I'll get to watch her and coach her through learning to read real books, not just site words, and her excitement and giddiness will be mine, too.  I'll get to listen to her talk about the best music teacher on the planet and learning to sing wonderful new songs.  I'll get to hear her talk about adding and subtracting, because for some reason, I think she's really going to like math and the logic in entails.  I can't wait to hear about ALL OF IT.  She's also going to make other kids smile, and I hope she'll bring happiness to them if they're having a bad day. 

To be honest, I've had moments of fear this summer about where she'll go to school.  There has been a lot of violence and gang activity in the neighborhood that surrounds her building.  But, I feel called and compelled to keep her there for that very reason.  A gentleman in our local paper stated (I'm paraphrasing here) that we can't leave or walk away from this neighborhood, because the gangs and criminals win.  Too right he is.  Baby Girl and her classmates will bring joy to that school and their teacher.  They'll learn together: how to read, write, do math, and I hope how to empathize, sympathize, and change the world.

Watch out, Kindergarten.  Here comes my #1.